


Took my bitterness and made it sweet (took a broken heart and made it beat)

by Nightshade98



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, F/F, Female My Unit | Reflet | Robin, I'm a slut for that found family trope, More characters will probably be tagged the more I write, Robin needs a hug, So here we are, They always say create what you wanna see, Validar is the worst father, protective Lucina
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:54:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 37,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26092927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightshade98/pseuds/Nightshade98
Summary: Over 20 years have passed since the end of the Ylisse-Plegia war that took the lives of the both nations’ rulers.  Even now, tensions run high between the border settlements, no matter how much the new Exalt and King attempt to keep the peace.In an attempt to avoid another war, King Validar hatches a plan: A marriage between the heirs of Ylisse and Plegia.  Unknown to Ylisse, Validar has his own reasons for sending his only daughter to live in Ylisstol.  But the longer Robin spends in a foreign land, the more she wonders if everything she’s been taught her entire life was wrong.An arranged marriage AU where Grima was never risen, and Robin was born around the same time as The Shepherd’s children.
Relationships: Lucina/My Unit | Reflet | Robin
Comments: 23
Kudos: 93





	1. Chapter 1

Robin had lived in the Plegian castle for over two decades, so she was very familiar with all the hidden passages, nooks, and crannies. The passages were great for sneaking around when she was trying to avoid overbearing servants, and occasionally Aversa when she wasn’t feeling up to training. 

But not her father. Validar was relentless when looking for his daughter, and Robin learned early on that she couldn’t escape her father.

However, those passages were great for spying on the throne room when Validar barred her from attending royal meetings. Robin was sure he knew she spied on the meetings, but she was also pretty sure he respected her subterfuge. Which is how Robin found herself crouching in a dark stone hallway, the damp floor seeping moisture into her clothing, spying on a meeting between her father and the Exalt of Ylisse. 

Robin shouldn’t have been surprised that she wasn’t in attendance for this particular meeting; Validar was very odd when it came to foreign nations knowing about his daughter. Sure, other kingdoms knew that the king of Plegia had a child, but that was basically all the information that Validar let out of the castle. Robin had frequently overheard him saying that he was a “private man”, and his heir’s “weak constitution” made traveling outside the castle impossible.

But Robin knew the real reason she was locked in a dingy castle away from any possible companions her whole life: Her father was a dreadfully cunning man. The less anyone knew of Robin, the harder it was for his enemies to use her against Plegia. And the easier it was to use her against them.

“Good day, Exalt Chrom.” Her father’s voice pulled Robin out of her musings and back to the meeting. “I trust you had no troubles on the road?”

“Nothing worth mentioning.” Robin shifted slightly so that she could get a better look at the leader of their neighboring nation. His white and gold armor glittered in the torchlight illuminating the throne room. There were no windows in the room, giving it a stuffy, almost claustrophobic feeling. Robin knew Validar chose this room specifically, the general feeling serving to unnerve most anyone visiting, just as Validar liked it.

“I’m so glad to hear it.” Validar nodded at the other man. “But I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve asked to meet with you in person.”

“I admit, I am very curious. I don’t think we’ve spoken in person since I took the title of Exalt.” Robin could hear the mistrust in the foreign leader’s voice. It was such a difference to her father’s controlled, nearly emotionless voice.

“Has it already been that long?” Validar let out little chuckle that immediately made Robin’s skin crawl. “How the time flies when you have a nation to build back up from nothing.”

“Yes, there were… many repairs to handle after the war.” Chrom answered, and Robin could see his stiff posture and pinched features from her hiding place. This man was _terrible_ at hiding his emotions. “I’m glad to see both our nations doing well in the aftermath.”

“But that’s just it.” Validar latched on to his words with a glint in his eyes. “While Plegia’s capital and surrounding settlements are thriving, our border settlements are not as fortunate. And while I don’t want to make any assumptions about your nation, I think the people at your borders are also feeling the strain.”

“The war is still fresh on my people’s minds.” Chrom conceded after a moment. “Those near the border have more physical reminders than those living closer to the capital.”

“While I can sympathize, it has been more than 20 years. I have done my best to keep Plegians off Ylisse soil. That business with Gangrel was… unfortunate, but I have done what I could to make amends.”

“Yes, and Ylisse still thanks you for providing the ships needed for the liberation of Valm.” Chrom looked pained to be thanking her father, and Robin almost let out a little laugh. Opening up the royal coffers to Ylisse helped to cement their non-violent stance after the war, and allowed Ylisse to focus on something else for quite a while.

“Of course. We had the funds and ships to spare. I do still regret not being able to provide you with troops, but as you know, once we weeded out all of Gangrel’s followers, Plegia was left rather weak.” Validar admitted, and Robin had to give him credit, she really would have thought her father was remorseful if she didn’t know any better.

“It all worked out in the end.” Chrom acknowledged.

“But both our nations still hold great distrust for one another.” Validar got them back on track. “Four personal guards for this meeting is more than you’d take to Regna Ferox, after all. Not that I blame you.” Validar was quick to cut off the younger ruler. “I would do the same if I was traveling to a land that didn’t trust me.”

Robin took that moment to look at the Exalt’s guard. Three women and a man, each of the women with different types of armor, and the man wearing mage robes paired with the most ridiculous hat Robin had ever seen. Did all Ylissian mages wear that pointy monstrosity?

“But this does further prove my point.” Validar continued. “Our people don’t trust each other. And eventually, I’m afraid that this will lead to conflict.”

“Then what do you suggest?” Chrom questioned, armor clanking as he crossed his arms.

“A union.” Validar answered with a flourish, standing from his throne. Robin watched as one of the women, a flying knight if her armor was anything to go by, tensed and started to step forward. A wave from Chrom stopped her from moving, but Robin could tell she was on high alert. “A visible, tangible symbol of the peace between our two nations.”

“A union?” Chrom asked as if to make sure he heard correctly. “As in a marriage?”

“Yes.” Validar slowly walked towards the blue-haired man, but stopped with a comfortable distance between them. “Your heir, and mine. I have heard rumors that your first born has attracted quite a few proposals already, but has not accepted any. While I am hesitant to use my only heir’s marriage as a political union, I do believe this is the best way to show that our two nations can live in harmony.”

“You want me to marry off Lucina to someone she’s never met?” Chrom balked. “To use her as a… a bargaining chip?”

“Exalt Chrom,” Validar sighed before looking at him with sympathy Robin knew was fake, “while I have heard you were lucky enough to marry for love, many royals do not share that fate. Most unions of heirs are for political reasons. I would not suggest this for either of our children if I could think of another way to broker a long-lasting piece between our nations. And of course, the two would live in Ylisse with your people. I know that Plegia was at fault for the war, and I only wish to make amends for what Gangrel subjected your people to. With my only child living in Ylisstol, you could be certain that no Plegians would dare attack your lands. I will make sure my people would not put their future leader at risk like that.”

“I…” Chrom looked ready to argue, but apparently couldn’t find the words. “I hadn’t even considered…”

“My lord!” The guard who had stepped forward earlier seemed stunned by the hesitation of her leader. Robin’s eyebrows shot into her hairline. How dare some mere guard question her Exalt? Especially in front of others? “You’re actually considering this? What would the queen say?”

“I’m not asking for answer right now.” Validar tried to calm them all. “I know this isn’t a decision to be taken lightly. Please, take your time, speak with your family and advisors. I only ask that you truly think on my proposal, and that you send word of your decision by the end of the month.”

“I think that’s a reasonable request.” Chrom hesitantly agreed with Validar. “Now, if there’s nothing else, I believe that we should be going.”

“Oh? I had guest quarters prepared for all of you. I know that the journey between our capitols is not a short one.” Validar offhandedly remarked, arranging his features into disappointment.

“I appreciate your… kindness.” Chrom now looked very uncomfortable. “But unfortunately, my son is to be knighted soon, and I must return to complete preparations. I’m sure you understand.”

“Of course.” Validar nodded. “Our children must come first, after all.”

Robin sneered unconsciously at that comment, knowing how untrue it was. The kingdom always came first, and the Exalt was a fool to spurn the hospitality, no matter how fake, just for something so personal.

“You will hear from me before the end of the month.” Chrom nodded at the king. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Robin watched the Exalt turn to leave, the one outspoken guard not moving, not taking her eyes off of Validar until her lord was safely out of the room. Robin took that as her cue to scramble up and out of the passage, heading straight towards her room. Her father would no doubt be paying her a visit very soon and if she wasn’t in her quarters there would be hell to pay.

**XXXXX**

Just as Robin expected, there was a single knock at her door before her father entered her bedroom. She had sat down at her desk in an attempt to look like she was doing her usual research instead of spying on a royal meeting, praying she didn’t look like she had just jogged back as quickly as she could. She stood, shoulders squared and back straight, just as she had been taught.

“I assume that you heard all of that?” Validar questioned his daughter as soon as he entered the room, looking down his nose at her. Not for the first time, Robin cursed the fact that she didn’t inherit his height. Validar stood a full head taller than her, and it always made her feel so _small_ in his presence.

Robin, not sure what his reaction could be to her spying, looked to the ground as she answered. “Yes, my king.”

A sudden hand gripping her chin forced Robin to meet narrowed red eyes, the only indication that he was upset with her. “You will look at me when I address you, do you understand?”

“Yes, my king.” Robin tried not to let her fear leak into her words. “I apologize for my mistake.”

“Hmmm.” Validar forced her to meet his gaze for a few more moments before letting go of her face. She dared not rub at the sore skin, knowing it would only set him off again. Validar may have been getting along in years, but he was still the most fearsome mage Robin had the misfortune of knowing. “Good. Then I expect you to make all the necessary preparations.”

“But Fa-” Robin nearly bit her tongue when she realized she almost referred to him as “Father”. She learned that lesson _painfully_ as a child. “My king, I am sorry to say, but I don’t understand.”

“Don’t understand what, girl?” He asked, the lack of inflection in his voice only serving to increase the anxiety she was feeling.

“What is the point of wedding me off to the Ylissian heir?” Robin made sure to look at her father as she spoke this time, which meant he could see the frustrated confusion clear on her face. “With our plans to raise Grima, how will sending me away help? Would I not be of more use to you here, continuing my research?”

“Oh, my dear, short-sighted child.” Validar gave her a mockery of a smile before cupping her cheek lightly. “What is the biggest threat to my plans?”

“The Exalt and his armies.” Robin parroted what had been ground into her head since she was a child.

“Correct.” His nails lightly dug into her skin after he patted her cheek a few times. His hand left her face, and she almost sagged in relief. Almost. “And unless we can gather proper information on Ylisse’s military skills and strength, I cannot safely raise Grima.”

Robin, raised with books being her only companions, was a very bright girl. Which meant the answer clicked into place quickly.

“If that girl and I were married, and I went to live in Ylisstol, I could discover that for Plegia. For you.” Robin finished for Validar and was rewarded with a gleam of pride in his eyes. “I could win their trust, and discover all their strengths and weaknesses.”

“Exactly.” Validar smiled down at his child. “Those naïve, kind-hearted nobles will accept you into their lives easily. As long as you play the part.”

“While this is a brilliant plan,” Robin made sure to compliment his schemes, knowing that it usually put him in less of a violent mood, “Exalt Chrom didn’t agree to it.”

“Yet.” Validar corrected Robin, glaring down his nose at her once more. “While the Exalt may be a fool, he has lived through one war already. I believe that he will do anything and everything in his power to not allow another to start.”

“But his subjects don’t trust Plegia. So, as you said, a union by marriage could be the easiest and quickest way to unify our nations. To get them to trust us.” Robin continued, finally understanding her father’s plan.

He was right; Exalt Chrom had done everything he could during his rule to stay at least neutral with her homeland. But the citizens still remembered Gangrel’s time. Ylisse still bore the scars of a war that wreaked havoc on both nations. A war that took the leaders of both nations. Settlements on both sides of the border fell into conflict constantly, even with both rulers attempting to reign their subjects in. Chrom, wanting his people to be free of conflict, and Validar needing his people to stay in line until it was Grima’s time to rise.

The rise of Grima had been the goal of the Grimleal, the king’s most faithful, for longer than anyone could remember. While Robin dared not ask her father, she had heard rumors. Rumors that her father wasn’t a suitable vessel for the Fell Dragon. So she had spent her life researching any way to help Grima rise without a vessel. Her research hadn’t turned up an answer yet, but Robin knew that if one did exist, she would find it.

“So, as I said, begin making your preparations.” Validar waved a hand flippantly, and turned to leave. “Knowing that man, he’ll want you to meet his precious daughter before actually agreeing to the marriage, so I need to finalize all the details that you’ll tell them. But you will be leaving this castle before the end of the month. You can count on that.”

And with that, her father slipped out of her room, shutting the door firmly behind him. Robin finally let all the tension leak from her body, stumbling backwards and bracing a hand against the desk. Her other hand came up to gently rub at her face, the dull throbbing of pain letting her know she would be bruised tomorrow if she didn’t go and receive healing.

But she was far too tired to seek out a cleric at this point. They’d seen her with much worse wounds, they wouldn’t even bat an eye if she sought them out tomorrow with a few small bruises on her face. Dousing the candle, and shedding her trademark coat, Robin curled up on her bed, making herself as small as possible, and tried to not think about the fact that soon she’d be the wife to the next Exalt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to an idea that would not leave me alone for months until I started writing it!
> 
> This first chapter is mostly just set-up for the rest of the fic, but I promise Lucina shows up in the next chapter. I'm currently writing the two disasters meeting each other, so look forward to that.


	2. Chapter 2

Just as Validar predicted, a letter from Exalt Chrom arrived within a week of the meeting. While it wasn’t an acceptance of Validar’s plan, it _was_ an invitation to the upcoming celebration of the prince’s recent knighting, which would serve as a way to introduce the two heirs. By the sound of the letter, as long as the night went well, the Ylissian royal family would agree to the union. Validar read the letter to her with a triumphant smirk as soon as it arrived, and Robin made sure to compliment her king for his foresight.

Which is how Robin found herself in a carriage, dressed up like some sort of doll, riding towards Ylisstol. The dress she was forced into was itchy, and she desperately missed her pants. Her hair was pinned up to the point of giving her a headache, and a black circlet pressed into her temples painfully. The one blessing in all of this is that Validar wouldn’t allow the handmaids to put too much makeup on her. Being locked up in a castle her whole life, Robin was incredibly pale, and this only helped to support Validar’s claims that her health had been poor as a child.

“You do remember everything that I’ve told you, correct?” Robin looked away from the window of the carriage and focused on her father. “I won’t have you ruining this for me if you’ve forgotten.”

“I remember, my king.” Robin assured him, wanting nothing more than to go back to watching the countryside pass by. This was the farthest she had ever been from the castle, and she was drinking in the scenery like an excited child. But when her father raised an expectant eyebrow, she pushed thoughts of the surrounding land out of her mind. “I was a sickly child; any rigorous activity could cause me to faint unexpectedly. Because of this, I had to stay in the castle and was restricted to non-physical activities such as reading. You were hesitant to marry me to any suitors, worried that my condition would pose a problem. However, in recent years, our healers managed to craft a tonic that seemed to improve my stamina to the point of being able to live a mostly normal life. That is how we will be able to communicate while I’m away. You’ll send me vials of some sort of harmless potion with ‘healer’s observations’, and I will send you back any information on my ‘condition’.”

“Good.” Validar nodded to her sharply. “As long as you can charm this girl, my plan will be put in place.”

Robin tilted her head to the side, trying to think of how to connect with this foreign stranger. “Do you know anything about her?”

“The princess?” Validar settled back into the seat and put a hand to his chin in thought. “I know she’s the leader of The Shepherds, that little band of do-gooders.”

“So a soldier?” Robin asked, not feeling very confident. She had studied battle tactics and war history her whole life, but had never seen any real combat. Her “training” with Aversa was more dodging arcane attacks and learning how to make shields than anything else. That woman always hated Robin for being Validar’s “favorite”, a title she would have gladly given to the older woman if she could.

“A child with a hero complex.” Validar corrected. “I’m sure you can figure out how to use that.”

“Understood.” Robin nodded, desperately trying to figure out how to relate to this girl. “Is there any other information that I could use?”

“I’ve heard she takes after her father far more than her mother.” Validar added with a shrug. “Unfortunately, that is all the useful information that has made it to Plegia. But you’re a clever girl, you’ll figure it out.” Somehow her father made the compliment sound more like a threat.

“Yes sir.” Robin watched him for a few more moments before deciding it was safe to look back out the window. They had started to ride through more populated areas, and Robin watched as carts, horses, and people started appearing on the road.

There was suddenly a knock from the panel at the front of the cart, and Validar leaned forward to open it. “We’re approaching the capital, your majesty.” The driver informed him.

“Very good.” Validar nodded and closed the panel once again. “It’s time, then.”

**XXXXX**

Robin had never seen so many people in one place before. Nobles spanned the massive room nearly wall to wall, and there were knights everywhere. It seemed every noble from Ylisse was in attendance, and not a single one seemed intimidated by the sheer number of people in the large ballroom. Meanwhile, Robin had to consciously remind herself to keep her breathing steady and her features schooled into a neutral expression.

“Now presenting, King Validar and his heir, Ser Robin of Plegia.” The Plegians were introduced by the herald, and Validar gently guided his daughter down the stairs to the main room. Robin was assaulted by hundreds of whispers she knew were about her. She did everything in her power to keep her shoulders back and head high to meet all the curious eyes trained on her. She wouldn’t let these nobles see even a hint of weakness from her.

She was led to the other end of the room where the Exalt and Queen waited, and the shock on Chrom’s face helped to ease some of the tension Robin was feeling. Validar stopped them, then gave the other rulers a respectful bow. Robin could say many, many terrible things about her father, but he was one hell of an actor. It took a moment for her to realize that she needed to dip into a curtsey, and she prayed it looked normal.

“I thank you once more for inviting us to this celebration for your son, Exalt Chrom and Queen Olivia.” Validar spoke once he straightened. “I believe this will be an excellent opportunity for our two nations to grow closer.”

“I’m glad you could make it on such short notice.” To Robin’s surprise, the Exalt gave a little bow of his own back at her father. Clearly the younger ruler knew how to play the game better than Robin had originally thought. “And I’m glad that your health has improved enough to allow you to travel, Princess Robin.”

“It is truly a blessing.” Robin answered, giving the man a polite smile. “I look forward to speaking with your people, and learning all that I can while you’ve opened your gates to us.”

The queen, who had been watching Validar closely, finally turned her gaze to Robin. While the woman’s posture betrayed her anxiety, her eyes were sharp as they stared at the young noble.

“We also look forward to learning all we can while you’re here. My daughter is unfortunately running a bit late, a training drill ran longer than expected, but we’ll make sure to introduce you properly once she arrives.” Queen Olivia addressed Robin, which she found surprising. “And my son is already mingling. He is rather fond of these sorts of events.”

“Thank you, your highness.” Robin gave the queen another curtsey, then looked to her father.

“Then it sounds like we should follow his example until Princess Lucina arrives.” Validar nodded at the two then turned to leave, Robin following after him. Once they were a safe distance from the royals, Validar addressed Robin quietly. “Go and mingle, see if you can get anything useful from these people.”

“Yes, my king.” Robin muttered just as quietly, then broke off from her father to try to meld into the crowd. It shouldn’t have been hard to find someone to talk to, right? Practically everyone in the room was already looking at her anyway.

Of course, when several people scurried away as she approached, Robin realized that this wasn’t going to be easy. While everyone was content to gawk and gossip about her, no one seemed to want to actually speak to her. Grumbling, Robin made her way to the edge of the room where a table full of refreshments sat. She picked up a glass of some sort of alcohol, and turned to watch the room.

“Well, isn’t this just a crime?” Robin tensed and turned to look at a man around her age walking up to her. “A beautiful woman, all alone in the middle of a party.”

“It seems I’m not alone anymore.” Robin gave the blue-haired man a smile she hoped was charming.

“Luckily for you.” He took the bait easily, sliding up closer to her. “Princess Robin, correct?”

“That’s right.” Robin confirmed, not entirely comfortable with the fact everyone in this room already knew who she was. “And you are?”

“Inigo!” Another voice suddenly called out from Robin’s other side, and she flinched at the angry tone, spilling a bit of the drink on her gloved hand. “What are you doing?”

“I’m enjoying the company of a lovely woman.” Inigo wiggled his eyebrows at Robin quickly before looking to the new person. “Is that a problem, Severa?”

Robin turned to see who had interrupted them, seeing a woman with dusty brown hair giving the two of them a severe scowl. “Inigo, as in _Prince_ Inigo?” She turned back to look at the man once again. He wasn’t dressed particularly fancy compared to the rest of the room, and he had no adornments identifying him as royalty.

“Guilty as charged.” Inigo gave her a little bow. “No need to be intimidated, however. At the end of the day, I’m just a man.”

“Inigo!” Severa snapped again. “Don’t you know who that is?”

Robin tried her best not to grimace. Had they already decided that she was evil, just because of her homeland? Had she already failed the task given to her by her father?

“Well yes.” Inigo scoffed. “It’s kind of hard to not know who she is.”

“So you’re just flirting with your possible future sister-in-law for fun?” Severa crossed her arms and glared at him.

Robin couldn’t help but snort at that sentence. How had she even ended up in this situation?

“And you think this is funny?” Severa turned her glare to Robin.

“I mean, yes?” Robin figured she was already caught. There was no use in trying to lie at this point. “How often do you hear that question, after all?”

“See, the lady doesn’t mind my presence.” Inigo practically puffed up in pride. “You need to loosen up, Sev. Go dance with a pretty person, have a few drinks. It _is_ a party after all.”

“I am more than happy to speak with you, Prince Inigo.” Robin agreed, and his grin turned to her. “However, maybe we keep the flirting to a minimum, hmm?”

Inigo deflated slightly, and Severa’s expression hadn’t changed one bit. Maybe this was a terrible idea. It’s not like Robin knew how to talk to people her own age.

“I’m not sure Inigo knows how to talk to anyone without flirting.” Severa finally said.

“Hey!” Inigo put a hand to his chest in offence, but the glint in his eyes let Robin know he wasn’t actually serious. “I can absolutely talk to people without flirting.”

“No, you can’t.” Severa shrugged, then turned back to Robin. “Just ignore him. That’s what I do, anyway.”

Severa’s expression hadn’t really changed, but her words seemed friendly enough. Maybe pissed off was just her default?

“Oh.” Robin didn’t know how to respond. She was so far out of her depth here, and she had no idea how to proceed. “Okay?”

“Are you okay?” Severa took another step forward and started to look Robin up and down. “You seem kind of pale. Do you need some food or something?”

“Oh, no, it’s okay.” Robin felt a bit of the tension leave her. “I couldn’t really go outside when I was growing up, so this is normal for me.” She motioned to her pale complexion.

“Right.” Severa tapped her forehead with the heel of her hand. “I heard you were sick as a kid. Um, well…” She suddenly seemed just as uncomfortable as Robin.

“I apologize for Severa.” Inigo cut in. “She has about as much tact as a feral wyvern.”

“Hey!”

“But she’s my sister’s personal guard, so we all put up with her and her attitude.” He continued on with a smirk. Robin’s head was spinning. Were they insulting each other to each other’s faces? And in public?

“At least I’ve actually had a date to one of these things.” Severa countered.

“Low blow, my dear.” Inigo chuckled. “But I concede. Why are you here, anyway? Don’t you usually like to sulk in the corner until someone forcibly pulls you onto the dance floor?”

“Lucina’s still cleaning herself up from earlier, so I told her I’d keep an eye on Princess Robin.” Severa answered, glancing back to Robin who was watching the whole conversation with rapt attention.

“Ah, yes. Someone needs to keep her safe from all the gossip.” Inigo nodded, expression softening a bit. “And I’m sure I’ll only make it worse, so I’ll take my leave. It was very nice to finally meet you, Princess.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you as well.” Robin curtsied and the prince left.

“You don’t have to do that every time he speaks to you, just so you know.” Severa commented as he slipped into the crowd.

Robin turned back to her. “What?”

“The curtsy.” Severa shrugged. “If you want to, that’s fine. But I have a feeling we’re a little less formal than you’re used to. And someone should warn you.”

“Oh.” Robin filed that information away. She didn’t even know what the “proper” amount of formality was in a situation like this, but apparently, she had already overshot it.

“So, the reclusive princess from Plegia.” She had leaned up against the wall, and was eyeing Robin again. “I was certain we’d never actually see you.”

Inigo hadn’t been kidding about the tact thing.

“I’m just happy my health improved enough that I could actually travel.” Robin answered, fiddling with the glass in her hands. Her glove had dried, but she could feel that the fabric had become stuck to her hand due to whatever this drink was. “Being restricted to the castle growing up was hard.”

_Gain their sympathy._ Her father’s voice echoed in her head. _The more pathetic your childhood sounds, the less suspicious they will be of you._

“I can’t imagine.” While she was still scowling, Severa’s eye did soften a bit. “Did you at least have friends to keep you company?”

If by “friends”, she meant a fanatical woman who had tried to kill her multiple times, and a father who accepted nothing less than perfection, sure.

“A few.” Robin lied, glancing back up to see Severa studying her. “I spent most of my time in the royal libraries, though.”

“A bookworm?” Severa let out a little huff that Robin thought might have been a laugh. “We have a few of those in The Shepherds. I’ll have to introduce you to them.”

“Oh, um, thanks.” Robin was surprised by the casual acceptance. She wanted more people to meet Robin? But after a moment it made sense. The more people that met Robin, the more information they could gather about her. It was the very reason Validar didn’t let Robin out of the castle growing up, after all.

“Least I could do.” Severa brushed her comment off, but Robin thought she saw the corner of the girl’s mouth twitch up. Maybe Robin could do this, after all. “Listen-”

Whatever Severa was going to say was interrupted by the herald suddenly announcing a new arrival. “Now presenting Princess Lucina of Ylisse.”

Robin’s head snapped to watch the new arrival descend the stairs, not realizing that she was holding her breath.

“I told her not to go with the blue…” Robin barely registered the muttering from Severa, and watched as Lucina reached the end of the staircase and disappeared into the crowd. “Let’s go find her.”

“What?” Robin finally turned back to Severa, who was holding an arm out for Robin to take.

“If we don’t grab her, she won’t escape that crowd for the next hour.” Severa shook her arm a little bit, trying to get Robin to take it. She put her glass down before taking the offered arm hesitantly, still unsure what was going on, but figuring she needed to play along for now.

Severa led them through the crowd, seeming to have a special skill for navigating the packed floor. Soon enough, a flash of blue hair could be seen through a gap in two nobles, and Severa wasted no time in guiding them through.

“Your highness.” Severa called out, and the title helped to put Robin a little more at ease. It seemed Severa showed her leaders respect around all these other nobles, at least. “Sorry to interrupt, but I think I have someone here you should meet.”

“Oh, Severa.” Lucina turned and Robin got her first real look at the other princess. Her breath hitched a bit as their eyes met, but she wasn’t quite sure why. Lucina wasn’t glaring at her, and she didn’t seem suspicious of the Plegian, so why did it suddenly seem like Robin’s lungs were betraying her? Was her stupid corset laced too tight?

“Princess Lucina, meet Princess Robin.” Severa introduced them, and the murmurs of the surrounding crowd finally reached Robin’s ears. “I’ll be by the refreshments if you two need anything.” And with that, Severa disappeared back into the crowd.

“Hello.” Robin gave a little curtsey, aware that this was the wobbliest one she’d done all evening.

“Hi.” Lucina returned the greeting, but did a little bow instead. Then she seemed to realize her mistake before dipping into a clumsy curtsey, a faint dusting on pink on her cheeks.

“Thank you for having me.” Robin managed to get out. “Here. Tonight, I mean. I know this is a celebration for your brother, so you didn’t have to.”

“It seemed like a good opportunity to meet.” Lucina explained. While the hints of a blush were still present, Lucina’s face was rather stoic. Not angry or suspicious, just closed off. It made it quite hard to get a read on the other girl. “Especially with the deadline your father gave mine.”

“I apologize for that.” Robin finally seemed to be getting ahold of herself, and slipped back into her role. “With my health being questionable until recently, we couldn’t consider any of the proposals I had received previously. But now…”

“I understand.” Lucina nodded and motioned for the pair to move away from the middle of the room, which Robin was grateful for. “It was just an observation; I meant no offence.”

Lucina didn’t offer her arm like Severa did as they moved through the crowd, and Robin was relived. All the casual, gentle contact she had already experienced was a bit much for someone who wasn’t used to being touched unless it was as a punishment.

“The queen informed me that a training drill caused you to run a bit late tonight.” Robin attempted to make casual conversation. “Is everything alright?”

“Oh, yes.” Lucina glanced down at Robin as they reached a slightly more secluded corner of the room. The noise wasn’t blocked at all, but Robin noticed Lucina let her stand near a statue that blocked her slightly from the rest of the guests. This girl was either embarrassed to be seen with Robin, or _very_ observant to how uncomfortable Robin was with the sheer number of people looking at her. Probably the former. “There was a small accident, so the drill ran a bit longer than I thought it would.”

“An accident?” Robin tilted her head slightly. “Is everyone alright.”

“Hmm?” Lucina glanced down at Robin, then away quickly for some reason. “Oh, yes. One of The Shepherds was being a bit… flashy and she fell off her pegasus and through the roof of the stables.”

“That sounds painful.” Robin cringed.

“Luckily, Cynthia wasn’t too high in the air.” Lucina assured Robin. “But her fall broke the roof, and panicked the animals. I stayed to help repair the stables while a few others went to gather and calm the mounts.”

Robin was now very confused. A princess staying to assist with manual labor? Didn’t she have people for that?

“What happened to Cynthia?” Robin asked.

“She landed very heavily on her arm, unfortunately.” Lucina grimaced a bit. “So she’ll be with the healers for a few days while she recovers.”

“She isn’t going to be in any trouble?” Robin asked before she could think better of it.

“Missing this party is serving as a punishment.” Lucina told her, pity in her eyes. Very interesting eyes, Robin noted suddenly. Something was odd with her left eye, but she broke eye contact again before Robin could figure out what it was. “Cynthia loves a good celebration. And I’m sure her parents will speak to her later about being so reckless in training.”

Robin felt her head spinning. They did things so differently in Ylisse, and it made absolutely no sense to her. Royalty doing manual labor, soldiers being foolish during training, people not being adequately punished for causing such a mess. Things just kept stacking up, and Robin was suddenly craving some sort of normalcy.

There was a sudden noise from the other side of the room, and Robin found herself jumping again. She was just glad that she didn’t have the drink in her hands anymore because she was sure she would have spilled it all over herself. Good gods, she needed to control her reactions. As she was getting ahold of herself, she noticed Lucina look down with an unreadable expression, and Robin felt her face flush in embarrassment. Robin silently cursed herself, she was ruining any chance at making a good first impression at this rate.

“It sounds like the band is starting.” Lucina commented, glancing over to the slightly raised area where a group of musicians were beginning to play a slow, gentle melody.

Robin leaned out from behind the statue to get a look at what was going on. Her eyes widened as she watched everyone clear out from the main floor, crowding the edges. Then, slowly, pairs of people started moving to the floor to begin slowly swaying to the music.

_Dancing_. Why hadn’t Robin thought of that? Why hadn’t her _father_ thought of that? Robin didn’t know how to dance. Had never even considered the possibility of that happening in her lifetime. Those thoughts hit her, and it was suddenly too much.

The one saving grace was that when Robin turned back to Lucina, and she looked just as uncomfortable with the idea of joining the couples on the floor. She looked down at Robin, back to the floor, and then over to where Robin had met with her parents.

“Would you want to-” Lucina finally looked back to Robin, but the Plegian could barely hear her. All she could think about was being on that floor, surrounded by people, constant contact between her and another person.

She didn’t quite know what was happening to her. The edges of her vision had started to go fuzzy, and a ringing in her ears was drowning out the music. Her chest felt tight in a completely different way than it had earlier. If she had held her hands up, she would have seen them shaking.

“-bin.” Robin could vaguely hear someone talking close to her, but it sounded so far, and was so hard to focus on.

In the back of her mind, Robin barely registered someone moving her, guiding her away from the dancefloor. A sudden shock of cold helped bring her back to the present.

“Robin, can you hear me?” Robin flinched away from the sudden voice, her breathing still shaky, but she was at least aware that she was outside, Lucina looking down at her with obvious concern in her eyes.

“Where are we?” Robin croaked out, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings.

“The garden, just outside the main ballroom.” Lucina answered, motioning to the windows where Robin could see the party continuing inside. “You looked like you needed some air.”

“I’m sorry.” Robin crossed her arms over her stomach, ashamed of her own weakness. “I think the journey was a bit harder on me than I originally thought.”

“It’s alright, Princess Robin. It’s not your fault.” Lucina assured her, and Robin’s head shot up to meet Lucina’s gaze. For the first time, the two held gazes long enough for Robin to see the Brand of the Exalt clearly in the other woman’s startlingly blue eyes. “Would you like some water, or something to eat?”

“I should probably drink some water.” Robin tried to chuckle, and turned towards the castle, but was unable to make herself move back towards that room filled with people.

“I can fetch you some.” Robin turned back to Lucina motioning to a bench a little farther down the path. “Please, sit and rest. I’ll be right back.” And with that, Lucina briskly walked back to the castle. 

Robin let out a heavy sigh and moved to sit on the bench, watching a fountain gently bubble. She really was making a mess out of this whole situation. Growling lowly to herself, Robin smacked her own forehead with a fist, but had forgotten about the stupid circlet wrapped around her head. She grimaced as the metal dug into her skin, but she probably deserved that. What kind of princess couldn’t keep her composure for _one_ party? Lucina was probably telling her parents how pathetic Robin was right now. The proposal would be rejected, and then Robin would have to deal with whatever punishment her father decided that she deserved.

“Here you go.” Robin was drug out of her self-pity by a glass being held out to her. She looked up to see Lucina smiling down at her. “I also grabbed some Ylissian pastries. You seemed a little shaky, so I thought some sugar could help.”

“I… Thank you.” Robin gingerly took the glass and sipped the cool water. Immediately she felt better, and offered Lucina a smile. “You’re very kind.”

“I’m just glad I could help.” Lucina tried to brush off, but Robin thought she saw a little bit of color on the other woman’s cheeks. “And I want to apologize.”

“Apologize? Why?” Robin had no idea what the other woman could have done to warrant an apology.

Lucina sighed and moved to sit on the bench with her and put the plate of pastries down next to Robin, leaving a comfortable amount of space between them. “This is not really my strong-suit.”

“This?” Robin asked, picking up a pastry and nibbling on the corner. She was suddenly aware of how hungry she actually was, and absently wondered when the last time she ate a real meal was.

“All this.” Lucina motioned to the castle. “Parties, and dancing, and… talking?” Lucina grimaced, and Robin had a fleeting thought that this was the most expressive she had seen the other princess all evening. “I was worried that I had bored you earlier.”

Robin couldn’t help it, she let out a little laugh, still a little shaky from earlier and not in as much control as she would have preferred. She turned to Lucina, and saw the other woman tense. “You definitely didn’t bore me, Lucina.” Robin quickly assured her. “If anything, I was worried that _I_ had ruined the evening.”

“Why?” Lucina asked, and Robin noticed that she got a little furrow in her brow when she was confused. 

Not knowing why she had focused on that, Robin shook her head and answered. “I made you leave your brother’s party.”

Lucina scoffed. “He won’t even notice I’m gone. This is far more his specialty than mine.” She explained. “Besides, we had a small family celebration a few days ago.”

“Well, then maybe we agree that neither of us has ruined the night?” Robin hesitantly suggested.

“I think I can do that.” Lucina smiled at her again, and Robin was suddenly worried the strange occurrence from earlier was coming back. Her chest had gotten tight again, but at least she could still breathe normally.

The two continued to make light conversation, mostly about books Robin had read and interesting facts about Lucina’s homeland. As they spoke, Lucina took the time to point out her favorite of the pastries on the plate, and Robin was more than happy to try each new treat. Inside, the music and dancing continued well into the night, but neither woman ever considered going back inside. Both were far more comfortable out in the gardens, anyway. Eventually, the music did stop, and the guests slowly dispersed from the party.

“I apologize for cutting in, Princess Lucina.” Robin felt her heart thud painfully as she recognized her father’s voice. “However, I do believe it is time for my daughter to retire for the night. It’s been quite a long day for her, after all.”

“Of course, King Validar.” Lucina stood, giving the man a quick curtsey. “I hadn’t realized it had gotten so late. I am sorry we didn’t get a chance to speak.”

“Oh, I’m sure there will be time later.” Validar brushed off the comment. “I’m just grateful you had a chance to get to know my daughter. Now, if you’ll excuse us.”

Robin stood quickly, glancing back to Lucina. “I had a wonderful evening, Princess Lucina. I do hope we can continue our conversations while I’m here.” She felt herself slipping back into her role, and realized that she had almost forgotten why she was here in the first place as she was speaking to Lucina earlier.

“I hope so, too, Princess Robin.” Lucina had a small smile when she spoke to Robin, but it quickly slipped from her face as she turned back to Robin’s father. “Have a good evening.” With that, the blue haired woman turned and made her way back to the castle.

“You did well.” Validar suddenly commented. “Good.”

“She was… surprisingly easy to talk to.” Robin said diplomatically.

“And separating her from the party to hold her attention was a clever ruse.” Validar hummed, and Robin was surprised that it seemed like it was an actual compliment. She didn’t dare mention exactly _why_ they had left the party, or that it wasn’t a conscious plan on her part.

“Thank you, my king.” Robin looked up to him, but his attention was still on the castle.

“Come now, it’s late, and conversing with these people has exhausted me.” He finally said, making his way to the castle.

Robin glanced back to the bench, and the empty plate sat on it. An ache started in her chest, but she pushed it aside. She still had a job to do, after all.


	3. Chapter 3

Robin woke the next morning and was immediately disoriented by an unexpected beam of light hitting her straight in the face. Groaning, she pulled the blanket over her head, trying to hang onto sleep for just a few more moments. Of course, when a light knocking sounded at the door, Robin abandoned that dream.

“Your highness, I apologize, but your father has asked for you.” Robin groaned, not knowing why her father needed her _now_. Yesterday was so long, and this fluffy Ylissean bed was so comfy. “He said it was urgent.”

“One moment.” Robin called, voice low and scratchy from sleep. She got up and grabbed her trademark coat, covering herself up to be presentable for whatever servant was on the other end of the door. She opened it slightly to see a handmaid looking around rather nervously. “What did the king say, exactly?”

“He asks that you prepare for your journey back home, my lady.” Robin felt her face scrunch up in confusion. “King Validar received news that he was needed back in Plegia as soon as possible. Your servants are all preparing your carriage as we speak.” The woman could hardly look at Robin, and she almost rolled her eyes at how nervous she was. “Would you like assistance in preparing yourself? I can gather some of the Ylissean servants to assist you, your highness.”

“I will be fine by myself.” Robin consciously kept the annoyance out of her voice. The last thing she needed was several servants tripping over themselves every time she twitched. “Please inform King Validar that I will be down shortly.”

“Very well, Princess Robin.” She gave a curtsy and practically sprinted away from Robin’s door.

Closing the door behind her, Robin went over to the chest of clothing that had been packed for this trip. She sighed heavily, hopes of exploring a bit more of the Ylissean castle being dashed. As she dug through the chest, her hands found the familiar fabric of her favorite pants. Would her father care if she wore pants for the return journey? They had been packed, so it had to be fine, right?

Deciding her comfort was worth the risk, Robin shed her night clothes, and found the small basin of water that had been left in her room, washing up a bit. She realized that she hadn’t bothered taking all of the pins out of her hair the night before, so she had to take several painful minutes pulling those out.

Once her hair was hanging around her face loosely, though with a few odd crimps and waves as a result of last night, Robin threw on a loose undershirt and her pants. Finally, she threw her coat on over top, and made her way out of the room, looking for a few servants that could carry her chest down to the carriage. As she walked down the hallway, Robin pulled her loose hair into a simple ponytail, needing to control the mess of white tangles slightly. 

Robin rounded a corner to the right, but looking off to the left, where she thought she saw that handmaid scurry away to, and felt something solid slam into her side. The force drove the air from her lungs, and she stumbled back a few steps before catching herself on the opposite wall. Whoever she ran into, however, didn’t seem as lucky. A heavy “oof” came from around the corner, and Robin quickly straightened up to see who she had knocked over.

“Oh, I apologize.” Robin said, looking down to see a slight woman with dusty blonde hair, looking up at her with wide, frightened gray eyes. 

“N-no, it’s my fault!” The woman squeaked, flinching and putting her hands up almost defensively.

Robin was hit with _something_ deep in her gut. Some sort of feeling she wasn’t very familiar with, but she found herself unconsciously sticking out her hand to offer help to this woman.

“I’m the one who was looking the wrong way.” Robin assured her, the hand still hanging awkwardly between them. “I should have been watching where I was going. Especially in a castle I’m not familiar with.”

If anything, that comment seemed to panic her more. “Y-you’re the- oh no! I’m so sorry!”

“It’s alright.” Robin’s smile was becoming forced. “No harm was done.”

The woman just kept looking up with panicked eyes, and Robin suddenly was hit with the thought that this must be what she looked like when she upset her father. A knot formed in Robin’s stomach at that thought. Was she really as frightening as her king?

“Hey!” Robin looked past the woman on the floor to see Severa storming towards them. “What’s going on?”

“Severa, I promise, I didn’t-”

Robin tried to defuse the situation before Severa got the wrong idea, but the girl wasn’t paying her any attention. Instead, she had crouched down next to the other woman, her expression softer than Robin would have ever thought possible.

“Noire, are you okay?” Severa asked gently.

“I ran into the Plegian princess.” Noire murmured, looking slightly less panicked, but still practically shaking. “I almost knocked her over.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Severa smiled at Noire. “She’s not nearly as scary as you think.”

Robin didn’t know if she should be offended or not.

Noire’s eyes darted back over to Robin, who was still standing there with her hand out like a fool. Robin blushed and straightened back up, retracting her hand. “You’re not upset with me?”

“No.” Robin kept her voice gentle, not wanting to spook her again. “Like I said, I wasn’t watching where I was going. If anyone needs to apologize, it’s me.”

“See, she’s not mad.” Severa straightened up and helped Noire stand. Robin’s eyes widened a bit when she realized how tall this new woman was. Her meek nature made her seem so small, but she stood a few inches taller than Severa and Robin. “Why are you just wandering the halls alone, anyway?”

“Oh, I was trying to find some servants.” Robin pulled her gaze away from Noire to speak to Severa. “Apparently something is pulling us back to Plegia early. I need some assistance in bringing my luggage down to the carriage.”

“Hopefully it’s nothing too bad making you back home so soon.” Severa said, but the unspoken question was clear. “But I can handle the luggage.”

“That’s kind of you.” Robin figured she should just go with the weird way things were handled around here. “Is Princess Lucina around? I should let her know that I have to leave.”

“Lucina got pulled away this morning.” Noire suddenly spoke up, but blushed and ducked her head when Robin looked back at her.

“Unfortunately, yeah.” Severa put a comforting hand on the small of Noire’s back. “I was supposed to introduce you to some of the other Shepherds this morning. She was going to find you once she got back.”

“Oh, that’s too bad.” Robin deflated. She had felt at ease yesterday during their conversation, and she realized she was looking forward to feeling that once again. “Will you let her know that I had a wonderful time last night? And that I hope we can continue our conversation at a later time?”

Severa suddenly smirked, and Robin was put on the defensive. Nothing good ever came from a look like that. It usually meant that someone (mainly her father) had caught her in a lie, or had realized that they had won something.

“Oh, yeah, I can let her know.” Severa nodded. “I’m sure she’s just as upset as you that your visit is being cut short.”

“Thank you.” Robin nodded, electing not to curtsy. Severa had mentioned that she didn’t need to be so formal, and it was so early, so she just hoped it was acceptable.

“Go ahead to your carriage. I’ll get your luggage down shortly.” Severa motioned down the hallway behind her.

Robin just nodded once more, heading down the way Severa indicated. While she was upset she wasn’t going to get to explore the castle anymore, Robin was glad she wouldn’t be dealing with any more weird customs today.

**XXXXX**

Within the hour the Plegian convoy was moving away from the city, and back to their own country. Robin sat staring out the window once more, hiding her disappointment at the turn of today’s events.

“I will be glad to be away from that place.” She turned to see her father sneering.

“I thought our visit was…” Robin paused, trying to think of a word that wouldn’t upset her father, “informative”.

“Oh?” Clearly that was not it. When she met his eyes, there was a dangerous gleam in them. “How so?”

“They were just so different than Plegians.” Robin answered honestly. While she knew she was a decent liar, her father had the unfortunate gift to see through any ruse of hers. “I only spoke to a few of those ‘Shepherds’, and I found myself confused every time.”

“Yes, they have many backwards beliefs in that country.” Validar finally turned his gaze from Robin, and she felt a bit of the fear leave her.

Robin tentatively spoke up after a few moments of silence. “My king, may I ask why we had to leave early?”

“Something came up in Plegia.” Validar dismissed.

“Something that requires the king?” That was basically what that servant had told Robin, and it shed no additional light on the situation. “Is everything okay?”

Robin immediately knew she made a mistake when narrowed red eyes turned back to her. “Must I explain myself to a child?”

“N-no, my king!” Robin felt herself push back into the wall of the carriage, trying to put any amount of distance between them. “If you say that we must return, then of course that is what we will do. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No. You should not have.” Those eyes continued to pierce into her, and Robin knew that she would be punished for her insubordination. Maybe not now, but her father would find a way to ensure she learned her lesson. “I suggest learning to hold that tongue of yours. The last thing we need is for you to say the wrong thing to any of your new Ylissean… _friends_.” He practically spat the last word at her.

Robin stayed cowering against the carriage door until those red eyes finally turned away from her. Once free, she tried to settle back into the seat, not daring to turn back out to the window. The last thing she wanted to do now was turn her back on the snake she shared this carriage with.

**XXXXX**

The next week was one of the worst of Robin’s life, which was truly an achievement. While her father hadn’t necessarily done anything to her, the narrowed gaze she received every time he looked at her was only serving to increase her anxiety. She knew _something_ was coming, but she had no idea what it could be. Validar was very creative when it came to his punishments, after all.

She was attempting to distract herself in the library, reading a book on the history of the continent when a guard found her. “Your highness.” Robin muffled a squeak, and straightened to see an older man in elegant black armor looking down at her. “His majesty has requested your presence in the throne room.”

“I will head there now.” Robin nodded and stood, closing the book but leaving it on the table. She’d have time to put it away later. “You are dismissed.”

“Thank you, your highness.” The guard gave her a deep bow before turning and leaving Robin alone.

Robin’s knees felt weak as she exited the library. Her father rarely invited her into the throne room, and she knew that the other shoe had finally dropped, so to speak. But there was no escaping this, so she continued on, following the halls to finally find herself in front of the large double doors. She raised a shaky fist to knock, but the doors started to move before she even made contact.

“Enter.” The soft voice of her father somehow managed to carry the entire length of the sizable room, and Robin squared her shoulders before following the order. She saw her king sitting on his throne, but to her surprise, the other throne in the room was uncovered. There had been a dark covering on the queen’s throne for as long as Robin could remember. Robin had more memories of that cloth than she had of her own mother.

Once in front of her father, she dipped her head in a nod before looking back to him. “You called for me, my king?”

“Yes.” Validar leaned forward, steepling his fingers and looking Robin up and down. “I have a very important lesson to teach you today.”

“I look forward to what you will teach me, sir.” Robin managed to keep the fear out of her voice. Her “lessons” tended to be painful and left lasting impressions.

“You will sit there,” he motioned to the other throne, and Robin’s eyes widened, “and you will listen. You will not speak unless I tell you to. Understood?”

“Yes, my king.” Robin slowly approached the other throne, set just a bit farther back than the king’s throne. She settled into the dark stone, immediately feeling the cold of the stone seep through her clothing, Validar’s eyes on her the whole time.

“Good.” Validar smirked before turning back to look forward. “Bring in the prisoner.”

The doors at the end of the hall suddenly opened again, and several guards came in dragging a chained man between them. Aversa led the whole procession, a pleased smirk painted on her face. While the other guards stopped a bit from the thrones, Aversa continued to approach, finally stopping just behind Validar on his other side. She shot Robin a glare once the king could no longer see her, and Robin fought the urge to skink further into her seat.

“So, you are the worm who thought he could defy Grima’s will?” Validar spoke down at the kneeling man, disgust clear in his tone.

“I discovered the truth of your little ‘religion’.” The man spat up at Validar, and Robin was shocked at this man’s stupidity. He was already in chains, why was he making this worse for himself?

“Oh?” Validar leaned forward, a predatory grin on his face. “Do tell.”

“That monster will reduce our world to ash. All your preaching about ‘cleansing the sinners’ and ‘inheriting a new world’ was bullshit. Grima only wants death and destruction.”

“Of course he does.” Validar stood suddenly, and it seemed like the whole room was holding their breath. “He wants the death and destruction of all that oppose him. He wants to raze his enemies, wants to be fed the blood and bones of those foolish enough to reject his blessings.”

“And that’s the kind of god you think your people should worship?” The man sputtered.

“Of course.” Validar was now stalking back and forth in front of this man, reminding Robin of a large cat toying with its prey. “It’s the natural order of this world, after all. The strong will conquer the weak. It’s why we have kings. It’s why religions have leaders. The weak _need_ someone to guide them. Did you really think that desecrating a single shrine would actually accomplish anything? You were ratted out by those you thought were your friends, because they knew that you had upset the natural balance.”

“No.” All the color drained from the man’s face, and Robin felt a brief flicker of pity.

“Yes.” Validar stopped in front of the man, victory clear on his features. “And now, you will be punished for your crimes against our great lord. You, and your ideals, will die alone.”

“There are others.” The man tried to argue. “Others that see the wickedness of this land. Killing me won’t change that, it will only solidify their resolve.”

“We’ll see about that.” Validar spun, and settled back into his throne. “Aversa?”

“Yes, my king?” Robin glanced over to see Avera’s barely contained glee.

“You have your tome, correct?”

“Of course.” Aversa pulled out a deep purple and black tome from her hip.

“Good, give it to Robin.”

“What?”

“My king?”

Both Robin and Aversa couldn’t help the surprised outbursts they let out.

“Was I unclear?” Validar turned his gaze to Aversa, and Robin watched as she seemed to shrink in on herself. It was odd to see the normally confident woman so meek.

“No, you were not.” Aversa managed to get out. “I apologize, my king. I was just surprised.”

“Next time you will hold your tongue.” Validar informed her, settling back to watch the show.

Aversa passed behind the throne to hand over her personal dark tome, the glare she was giving Robin almost enough to physically hurt. Robin lifted her hands to accept the book, staring down at the cover in fear.

She had never trained in dark magic, that was always Aversa’s specialty. Robin specialized in elemental magic, trying to add variety to Validar’s forces just in case she was ever called upon to fight. But now her father expected her to not only cast dark magic, but to kill a man with it? She suddenly felt physically ill.

“Well Robin? What are you waiting for?” Validar didn’t even turn to address her, but Robin knew she was out of time.

With a painful gulp, Robin stood, approaching the chained prisoner. He held his head high, hatred clear on his face, but she could see the trembling of his frame and the tears gathering in his eyes.

Robin entered her stance, the tome falling open in her left hand, right hand extended towards the man’s head. But as she looked into his eyes, all she could think of was that this couldn’t be how they handled defectors in Ylisstol. It was a dangerous and sudden thought, one that would lead to so much pain for her in the end.

But that didn’t stop the images of Lucina’s kind eyes, Severa’s little huff of a laugh, or Inigo’s easygoing smile coming to the forefront of her mind. What would they think if they could see her now? Would they all look at her like Noire had?

Because Robin knew this was wrong. No matter how much her father had tried to beat the compassion out of her, Robin stubbornly held onto it. She was convinced it had come from her mother, and she’d be damned if she let her father kill the last bit of her mother that Robin had left.

However, refusing a direct request from her king? That was practically suicide, even for her. Robin knew she wasn’t getting out of this without feeling pain. It was just up to her what kind.

Screwing her eyes shut, tears leaking from the corners, Robin felt the energy flow from the open tome, and into her outstretched hand. Keeping her eyes firmly shut, she let the energy loose, hearing the sharp exhale of the man as the bolt slammed into his defenseless form.

“You disappoint me, Robin.”

Her eyes flew open, and she saw the man straighten back up painfully before spitting blood onto Robin’s boots.

“Is that all you can do, dog?” The man snarled up at Robin, and she could only stand there frozen.

“Aversa.”

The next thing she knew, the tome was being ripped from her hands, and the man was being blasted back by a massive bolt of dark energy. Robin almost vomited at the sound of his bones shattering and the smell of his skin burning.

“It seems that Robin needs a lesson in dark magic.” Validar spoke, but he sounded like he was miles away from Robin. All she could focus on was this man, battered, broken, and very much dead on the floor. “Aversa, I take it you can handle her instruction.”

“With pleasure, my king.”

**XXXXX**

Robin threw up another shield, blocking a bolt of dark energy that Aversa had aimed directly at her head. Sweat beaded down the back of her neck, the strain of this “training session” causing her chest to heave as she attempted to catch her breath. Aversa was definitely throwing everything at Robin today, still livid at what had happened in the throne room. The older woman clearly wanted to leave a lasting, painful impression on the princess.

“Pathetic.” Aversa sneered as she motioned for another spell to spring forth from her tome. “I’ve barely thrown anything at you, and you’re a wreck already.”

“I’m still standing, aren’t I?” Robin grit her teeth, starting to weave her own attack. Maybe one good shot would be enough for Aversa to back off. She knew this wasn’t an educational spar, this was personal.

The smirk on her face caused warning bells to ring in Robin’s head. “Not for long.”

With that, the bolt of dark energy sprung forth from Aversa’s hand, speeding towards Robin. Robin threw her lightning spell to collide with the dark energy, but her eyes widened as the bolt split into two midway between the two mages. The lightning crackled and dispersed the bolt traveling straight at her, but the one that jumped high into the air was still streaking to the poor woman.

Not having enough time to weave another arcane shield, Robin felt the bolt slam downwards into her chest, driving all the air from her lungs and forcing her down into the dirt. She stayed there, wheezing for several moments, barely registering that Aversa had approached until the other woman spoke to her.

“I can’t believe our king would trust such an important task to a disappointment like you.” Robin managed to lift her head enough to see the sneer on her face. “You’ve made no progress, even after all this time. I could put you in the dirt with one hand behind my back. You’re useless, you understand that, right? You’re nothing.”

Robin had put up with a lot in her life. She had put up with a lot just today. There was only so much a person could be expected to endure before they met their breaking point, and by gods, Robin had found hers today.

Any other insult Aversa was spitting down at her was suddenly being drowned out by a roaring in her ears. Her head was pounding, and a darkness was bleeding into the edges of her vision. Fingers gripped the tome she was holding, and Robin could practically feel the energy building in the book, traveling up her arm, and to her other hand. Aversa wanted Robin to pose a threat? Fine. Robin would show her “teacher” just what she could do.

With a snarl, Robin leaped to her feet and released the power that was boiling her blood. Aversa’s eyes went wide as the ball of lightning slammed into her chest, sending her flying across the training grounds, before slamming her back into the weapons shed.

Robin felt her face morph into a sinister grin, a dark satisfaction flooding her system. This woman deserved to be punished for all she had put Robin through. Years and years of abuse were finally answered in kind.

But when Aversa laid unmoving on the ground for several moments, Robin felt like someone dumped a bucket of freezing water on her head. She had never cast a spell quite like that before, and she suddenly feared that it was too much. While she held no affection towards this woman, Robin knew her father would not be pleased if Robin accidentally killed his most powerful magical advisor.

“Aversa?” Robin jogged over to the woman, kneeling by her head. She gently rolled her over, grimacing at the smoldering mess that was her outfit. The skin around her stomach had been seared by the blast, and Robin felt bile rise in the back of her throat.

Knowing she couldn’t put it off any longer, Robin watched Aversa’s chest, praying that she would see the telltale rise and fall of her breathing. After an agonizing moment of waiting, Robin let out a breath as she saw the stuttering rise of the other woman’s chest. However, she was most definitely out cold.

Robin hesitantly stood, knowing she needed to get help, but also not wanting to be around Aversa when she woke up. While Robin had a talent for magic, she was definitely not the physically strongest person. Dragging Aversa to a healer was going to be rather difficult.

“Well, that was quite the show.” Robin spun on her heel, almost tripping over Avera’s prone form to see Validar stalking towards her. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you land a hit on Aversa.”

“I…” Robin’s throat felt like it was closing. Her father’s expressionless face betrayed none of his thoughts. “I…”

“Speak, child.” Validar snapped suddenly. “I don’t have time to stand here and listen to you stutter.”

“I didn’t mean to.” Robin squeaked out, immediately regretting her honesty.

“Oh?” Validar, to Robin’s surprise, didn’t look upset. Instead, a smirk slowly spread across his face. “Are you sure? You didn’t want payback for all the times she’s put you in the dirt? For all the insults that she hisses at you during these encounters?”

“I mean,” Robin swallowed thickly, “I wanted her to stop.”

“And you stopped her.”

“I suppose I did.” Robin muttered, looking back down to the woman she had viciously attacked. The memory of the hate that overtaken her suddenly springing to the front of her mind. She couldn’t remember a single time she had felt like that before. It almost felt like she had lost all control of herself.

“It felt good, didn’t it? Finally putting her in her place.” Robin’s gaze snapped back to her father at his question. Was this some sort of trick? Her head was still pulsing in pain, and she thinking about this too much was only making it worse. 

“Yes, my king.”

And it had felt good, at the time. But now? Now all Robin could think about was the fact that she had seriously injured Aversa. She had almost killed her just like Aversa had killed that man in the throne room. No amount of healing magic could fix the large scar now painting the other woman’s midsection. She would bear the mark of Robin’s rage for the rest of her life.

Validar, unaware of his daughter’s inner turmoil, just smirked down at her. “As it should. Remember my dear, in this life, the strong will always conquer the weak. Aversa let her arrogance blind her to the fact that you are a powerful mage. And now she will never forget that lesson.”

Robin answered her king automatically, no emotion in her tone. “Yes, my king.”

“I’ll have a servant fetch our dear Aversa and take her to the healers. While she deserved this lesson, her dying to infection would be unfortunate.” Validar waved a hand dismissively down at the prone form of the woman who had devoted her entire life to him.

“Was there something you needed from me, my king?” Robin asked, hoping to escape to her room. All she wanted was to curl up into a ball and forget this whole day. “You don’t usually attend my training personally.”

The smirk he wore expanded into a full smile. But there was no warmth in that gaze, no love for his daughter. “Yes. I bear good news.”

“Yes?” Robin prompted when he didn’t continue.

Instead of an answer, Validar pulled something out from his robes and presented it to Robin. Her eyes widened as she recognized it as a ring, and a very fancy one at that.

“Lucina accepted the proposal.” Robin muttered, a hesitant hand coming up to take the ring from her father.

“You fooled that poor, naïve girl, yes.” Validar chuckled, watching her take the ring. “And that means that soon, with your help, Grima will rise.”


	4. Chapter 4

Predictably, Robin was very distracted the next few days as servants buzzed around her, preparing her things for the move to Ylisstol. If she was a little less distracted, she may have been surprised that the Ylissean royals wanted her to move now, instead of after the wedding as they originally expected. But Validar was pleased with the development, and Robin managed to just nod along while he was gloating.

Robin hadn’t even finished processing the recent events before she was shoved in a carriage headed to her new home. Though, at least this time she wouldn’t be sharing the carriage with her father, so that was one benefit.

The trip itself seemed to fly by, and soon enough they were pulling up to the gates of the castle. Robin was finally pulled out of her stupor by the door opening, and a few guards letting her know that they would escort her to the Exalt and Queen. Unfortunately, Robin didn’t recognize a single one of the older guards, but one woman did look vaguely familiar for some reason. Robin was decently sure she had never met the woman before, so she just shook off the thought.

“Good afternoon, your highness.” Robin looked up to see a man giving her a polite smile. “I hope you had a peaceful journey.”

“It was very uneventful.” Robin shrugged, not remembering much of this ride. “So I suppose that is peaceful.”

“R-right.” Her answer seemed to unnerve the man, and Robin realized her exhaustion was causing her to sound apathetic. “Well, I’m glad to hear it.”

None of the guards tried to strike up conversation with her again as they entered the castle. Robin expected to be brought to the throne room, so she was confused as they led her to a smaller room with a few comfortable looking chairs set around a low table. The queen was sitting in one chair, a tall, muscular woman with short red hair standing just behind her.

“Princess Robin.” Queen Olivia greeted her with a polite smile. “It’s very nice to see you again. I hope your trip was pleasant.”

“Your majesty.” Robin curtsied towards the older noble. “It was, thank you.”

“Good.” The woman reached for a teacup that was sat on the table in front of her. “My husband and daughter are just finishing up with their training at the moment, but I thought that we could talk until they joined us.”

Warning bells rang in Robin’s head at that. Of the three nobles, Queen Olivia seemed the most suspicious of the Plegians at the party, so Robin wasn’t thrilled at the thought of being trapped in conversation with her for any amount of time.

“Of course, your majesty.” Robin smiled tightly at the other woman.

“Please, you can just call me Olivia.” The queen motioned to the chair directly across from her. “When it’s just us, I mean. No need to be so formal at the moment.”

Robin raised an eyebrow and looked to the guard standing at attention behind the queen.

“Oh, well, Sully is always going to be around.” Olivia awkwardly chuckled at Robin’s unspoken question. “She’s my personal guard, after all. Her and Cherche. But since Cherche doesn’t go anywhere without Minerva, and since wyverns don’t fit in sitting rooms very well, she isn’t here at the moment.”

“Okay.” Robin said slowly, lowering herself into the chair. When Olivia offered her a teacup, Robin noticed her hands shaking slightly. “Then I believe it’s fair if you just call me ‘Robin’.”

Olivia’s smile did seem to soften slightly at Robin’s acceptance, but her eyes continued to dart around. Small steps, Robin supposed.

“Well then, Robin, how are you feeling about all of this?” Olivia asked, and Robin was shocked at how gentle her voice was.

“The marriage, you mean?” Robin asked just to give herself a moment to think. When Olivia nodded, Robin scrambled to answer properly. “It’s for the best of both our kingdoms. I’m glad to be doing something that can help keep the peace.”

“While I’m happy to hear your dedication to peace, that’s not what I’m asking.” Robin furrowed her brow in confusion. “How are _you_ feeling? A marriage is a significant event in one’s life.”

“I…” Robin managed to keep her expression neutral, even with the shock of the question. She just looked down at the cup in her hands for a few moments, trying to come up with a response to satisfy the queen. “It is, I suppose. I always knew my marriage would be political, so that’s not anything new. As far as to who I’m marrying, I’ll admit I never dreamed it would be a royal from your kingdom. But Princess Lucina seems very kind, which I’m relieved.”

“Did you fear your father would marry you off to a cruel tyrant?” Olivia asked, and Robin realized that this woman was far more observant than she had given her credit for. Not many people would have read between the lines that easily.

“No.” _Yes._ “However, there was always the possibility that I wouldn’t get along well with my fiancé. But I had a very nice time at the party that you were kind enough to allow me to attend. Your daughter and I may not have gotten to know everything about one another, but I thought our conversation was very pleasant.”

“Lucina only had kind things to say about you after that night.” Olivia smiled down at her tea, and Robin felt warm all of the sudden. The queen was apparently doing a very good job at unnerving Robin. “We left the decision up to her, and she agreed to move forward with this union.”

“She did?” Robin couldn’t stop herself from asking as she looked back up at the other woman.

“Yes, however,” Oliva suddenly met Robin’s gaze with cold, hard eyes, all traces of fear gone, “if this is some sort of trick, if you do anything to hurt my daughter, it will be the last thing you ever do. Am I clear?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Robin answered almost automatically, that look all too familiar to her. But at least this was familiar territory. Meet your superior’s eyes, keep your back straight, and don’t allow any sign of weakness until you were alone. That had always served Robin well when dealing with her father. “I promise, I just want to ensure our two kingdoms avoid conflict.”

And that was true, even if Plegia’s version of “peace” didn’t quite match Ylisse’s. She was here to identify all of the strengths and weaknesses of the Ylissean forces to guarantee the rise of Grima would go as smoothly as possible. The more information she could feed her father, the easier they could just avoid engaging the Ylisseans altogether.

Olivia just continued to study Robin for a few moments, before seeming to be pleased with what she saw. Robin should have known the attempt to put her at ease was a ploy.

“That’s very good to hear.” All that confidence seemed to leave Olivia all of the sudden, and she shrunk back into the chair.

After that the two women fell into a tense silence, Robin afraid to say anything that would set the queen off again, and Olivia nervously playing with the teacup she held. The two drastically different sides to this woman were baffling to Robin. The nervous disposition of the queen seemed authentic, but that fire Robin had seen earlier also seemed genuine. What prompted the change, Robin couldn’t be sure of.

Several tense moments passed before a light knock sounded at the door. Robin was pretty sure she heard the guard, Sully, mutter a “thank gods” as she moved to check the door, and Robin only sunk further into the seat. Having the queen and her personal guard already against her was a terrible start to this whole situation.

“Good afternoon, your majesty.” Robin heard Sully greet, and she stood to properly greet the royal. “How was training?”

“Not the same without you whipping us all into shape.” Robin watched as Exalt Chrom entered the room, clapping Sully on the shoulder. “But the new Shepherds do a fine job at keeping me young at least.”

“Glad to hear it.” Sully nodded before moving back to her spot by Olivia.

Chrom offered Robin a kind smile and a respectful nod before taking the seat next to his wife. Robin glanced back to see Lucina entering the room as she brushed some hair from her face. Lucina also gave Robin a nod before settling in the chair next to Robin’s, but her expression was back to being guarded. Awkwardly, Robin settled back into the seat, taken off guard at the casual greetings the royals gave her. Her stomach was twisting on itself, but Robin did her best to appear unaffected.

“Good afternoon, Princess Robin.” The Exalt greeted as he grabbed his own cup.

“Exalt Chrom.” Robin greeted, wishing she still had the cup to occupy her hands. Instead she had to fold her hands on her lap, one gripping tightly to the other. At least her gloves hid her white knuckles. “Princess Lucina.”

“No need to be so formal.” The Exalt chuckled. “You are going to be family soon, after all.”

Robin froze in that moment, not even remotely sure how to take that statement. She knew her eyes were wide as she stared at the man, but she couldn’t take the look back now. And she had been schooling her expression so well up until this point.

“That was his attempt at a joke.” Lucina suddenly spoke, and Robin turned to see her shake her head at her father. “Maybe a little too much, Father?”

“Ah, I see.” Chrom gave a sheepish smile to both women, scratching the back of his head. “I apologize, Princess Robin.”

“It’s alright.” Robin shook the shock. “I’m used to having to use titles when speaking about foreign dignitaries. I apologize if that is not how things are done in Ylisse.”

“That’s fine, dear.” Olivia finally spoke to her again, but Robin could still see the slight narrowing of her eyes.

“Whatever will make you most comfortable.” Chrom agreed.

“I…” Robin glanced at Lucina out of the corner of her eye, unsure as to exactly _why_ she did so. “I think I would like to try being a little less formal.”

“Wonderful.” Chrom nodded decisively. “Then, Robin, we wanted to discuss this arrangement a bit more in detail now that you’re here. As long as you’re not too tired from your journey.”

“Of course.” Robin sighed, happy to move to a less personal topic. “And I will be fine, I took my tonic on the way here.”

“Right. As you know, the royal wedding will take place in one month’s time.” Chrom began, and Robin nodded along. “Until then, Lucina can help you become more familiar with Ylisse and our culture.”

“I look forward to learning about your people. I was disappointed with my last visit being cut short.” Robin didn’t even have to feign disappointment, all that happened in Plegia recently still weighing on her mind.

“It truly was a shame.” Olivia agreed, and Robin managed to hold her flinch back. She still had no idea what was going on with the queen, but it made her chest hurt in an unfamiliar and unwelcome way. “We would have loved for our family to get to know you better.”

“I also wanted to introduce you to The Shepherds.” Lucina suddenly spoke up, and Robin tore her eyes away from the queen to meet that gaze. “Hopefully between all of us, we can help you with anything confusing that you come across.”

“I’ve heard a few people mention The Shepherds. What exactly are they?” Robin asked, only having a vague idea of the group from reports fed to her father.

“It’s a volunteer group in service of the kingdom.” Lucina began, a hand coming up to her chin. “We act as a small, specialized force, I suppose. We complete tasks that don’t require the full force of the Ylissean army.”

“In the most clinical sense, that’s true.” Chrom suddenly spoke up, proud smile on his face. “I created the group to keep the people of Ylisse safe from brigands and the such.”

“And the name?” Robin asked, glancing between the two.

“There was a joke that the people were my ‘flock’, and since I was working to keep them safe, I was their ‘shepherd’. The joke stuck, and the name was inconspicuous enough that most other kingdoms didn’t think much of it.” Chrom explained.

“Clever.” Robin acknowledged, surprised at the subterfuge the Exalt was openly admitting to.

Chrom just shrugged and continued. “It was never really the plan to be subtle, and of course, once The Shepherds found themselves in more serious combat, we made quite the name for ourselves.”

“Now The Shepherds are a well-recognized force.” Lucina continued for her father. “We’re mostly comprised of children of the original group, with other volunteers cycling in and out as they see fit.”

“A completely volunteer task force.” Robin mused, trying to figure out what the benefit of that could even be. “Wouldn’t that mean you don’t always know your own numbers? Your strengths”

“All the descendants are pretty much permanent at this point. And some of the original Shepherds still run missions with us.” Lucina’s brows furrowed slightly at Robin’s comment. “Most missions we take don’t require large numbers, so it has never been an issue.”

“I can honestly say that we have nothing like that in Plegia.” Robin shook her head, still unable to see the tactical advantage of the group. Why not just have specialized teams within the actual military? Why allow a volunteer force at all?

“I’ll be the first to admit, it is rather odd.” Chrom admitted. “Many other kingdoms were confused at first. But I think the benefits outweigh all the confusion and criticisms of the other nations.”

“I hate to interrupt, but if we let him go on, we’ll hear about The Shepherds for the rest of the day.” Sully suddenly cut in, chuckling at the Exalt.

“Am I still that predictable?” Chrom turned and grinned at the woman, and Robin felt like she shouldn’t even be surprised at this point, but it was still jarring. “But Sully isn’t wrong, and we do still need to discuss the upcoming event.”

“Don’t worry dear, it will always be rather charming how much the group means to you.” Olivia patted her husband on the shoulder, a soft smile on her face. Chrom turned his own soft gaze to his wife, and Robin felt like she was intruding on something.

When neither noble broke eye contact for several moments, Lucina cleared her throat loudly, and the two startled and looked at their daughter with sheepish expressions.

“The wedding?” Lucina raised a brow at her parents.

“Right, well, Ylissean royal weddings don’t have any set traditions, it tends to differ slightly from couple to couple. That will need to be something you two discuss together.” Chrom explained.

“Yes. The only restrictions are that it needs to be public in some regard, and there will need to be a reception so that you two can be properly presented as a married couple.” Olivia continued. “The reception is already being prepped, so it will just be a matter of finalizing some of the finer details.”

Robin just nodded along as she listened, not finding anything too confusing, thankfully. However, that did mean that she and Lucina were going to have to have some discussions about the whole affair. Robin already knew she didn’t have strong opinions on the matter, the union being a means to an end and all, but she had no idea how her fellow princess would feel about all of this. While it was an arranged marriage, this was all still real to Lucina.

“We can start those discussions tonight over dinner.” Lucina told her parents with a firm nod before standing. “Until then, I did want to show Robin around the castle a bit so that she can get her bearings. Is that alright with you, Robin?”

“That would be wonderful.” Robin smiled, and stood along with Lucina, eager to escape the room.

“Great.” Lucina gave Robin a tiny smile in return before turning to address her parents. “Mother, Father.”

With that, the two left the room, Robin taking a deep breath as they made their way down the hallway. Lucina guided her deeper into the castle and up a flight of stairs, not making any conversation along the way.

“May I ask where we’re headed?” Robin asked once her curiosity got to be too much.

“Hmm?” Lucina glanced over her shoulder before quickly turning back to watch where she was going. “I figured we could start with your bedroom. I thought it would be a good idea for you to know where that was considering…”

“Considering?” Robin prompted once Lucina trailed off.

“Your, um, condition?” Lucina actually sounded uncomfortable as she mentioned it, as if Robin would be offended with her acknowledging it.

“It’s okay to talk about, I promise.” Robin tried to smile at Lucina, but she had her back turned still, so she dropped the smile and let out a sigh. “It’s something I’ve been dealing with my whole life, so it’s not like it’s a big secret or anything. And with the tonics, it’s not really an issue anymore.”

“I realize, it’s just…” Lucina trailed off before stopping and turning to face Robin finally. “I suppose it just feels odd, talking to you about your medical condition. Almost as if I’m deliberately calling you weak. Not that I think you’re weak!” Lucina looked slightly panicked as she waved her hands in front of her, and Robin felt her heart thump painfully all of the sudden.

Ignoring her odd reaction, Robin just tried to catch Lucina’s eye to make sure the princess was looking at her as she spoke. “I didn’t assume you did. It’s something that’s a part of me, so please don’t feel uneasy talking to me about it.”

“I can try, but I usually don’t talk to people about something so personal.” Lucina rubbed at the back of her head, and Robin was struck with how similar it looked to her father’s action earlier.

“I understand that.” Robin nodded, and suddenly feeling brave, she took a page from Chrom’s book in hopes to break the ice. “But considering we’re about to be wives, I think it’s okay to talk to me about something like this.”

Lucina seemed to choke back a laugh suddenly, and Robin felt her smile grow into a full grin. Maybe Chrom was on to something with the whole joke thing. “That’s sound logic, I suppose.”

“Though, in you defense, I should probably know where I’ll be sleeping while I live here.” Robin conceded after a moment.

“Right, about that.” Lucina’s smile wavered for a moment, and Robin felt a spike of anxiety in her gut. “While my mother was right that there aren’t any set traditions for the wedding itself, Ylisse does have one odd tradition regarding royal couples.”

“Oh?” Robin asked as nonchalant as she could, forcing her fear down in front of the other woman.

“Yes, well,” Lucina turned and began walking again, which couldn’t have been a good sign, “while we are engaged, you will have your own room. But once we’re married…”

“Yes?” Robin prompted, not quite enjoying all the pushing she was forced to do. Usually when her father trailed off it was purposeful, like for dramatic effect, but Lucina really just seemed like she wasn’t going to finish her thoughts.

Lucina stopped in front of a door and took a deep breath before squaring her shoulders once more. “This will be your room for the next month. It’s tradition for an engaged royal couple to sleep in conjoining rooms. But once you’re married, you will be moved into my room.”

“Okay?” Robin’s face scrunched in confusion. Was that so odd? A married couple sharing a room?

“You will keep the old room, of course.” Lucina glanced over her shoulder, and Robin could see a dusting of pink on her cheekbones. Was Lucina embarrassed? Why? “But it is expected that we at least sleep in the same room once we’re… married.”

“That’s fine with me.” Robin tried to ease the other woman’s apparent worries. “This isn’t anything I didn’t expect, Lucina.”

Lucina turned fully to look at Robin, looking slightly relieved. Robin was suddenly glad she grew up in a nation where showing your emotions was considered “weak”. It meant she could read the small shifts in Lucina’s expression. The other princess wasn’t exactly the most expressive person, but it was still more than her family.

“Okay.” Lucina nodded, then turned to open the door. “Then I’ll give you a moment to look around. The door on the left wall connects to my room, but there’s a lock on each side. There are keys hanging by the door, for safety reasons, but I promise I would never use it unless it was an emergency.”

“Thank you, Lucina.” Robin walked into the spacious room, slowly looking around. It was at least twice the size of her old room, with a few bookcases, a very comfortable looking chair by a fireplace, and a nice desk pushed up against a large window.

“I’ll be out here. Just come out when you’re ready, okay?” Lucina told her, and Robin just absently nodded in response.

Faintly, she heard the door click behind her, and Robin was thankful for the moment of privacy. She walked over to the bookcases, eyes widening as she saw them already packed with books on Ylissean culture and history, along with several that looked like fiction novels. She went to the desk after a moment, knowing she didn’t have the time to dig through all those tomes now, as much as she wanted to.

The desk wasn’t too fancy, but the wood was a nice dark color, and it was very spacious for her to spread her work out on. In the center there was a single book, and Robin picked it up gently. The cover read “Ylisse: A Brief History”, and Robin’s eyes began to burn uncomfortably, and her throat tighten. She cleared her throat, not willing to allow herself to cry in the middle of the day.

Someone took the time to stock her room with all the knowledge she’d need to live here comfortably. There were several places around the room she could just curl up and lose herself in her books. Light streamed in from the large window, giving her all the natural light she’d ever need, with heavy-looking drapes to block out that light at night.

Robin stumbled backwards, finally bumping into the bed, and sat down heavily on it. She couldn’t let this get to her. This was all probably standard for respected guests and other royals. It wasn’t anything special. It _couldn’t_ be.

Absently, Robin opened the cover of the book, and furrowed her brow at the small piece of folded paper laying there. She unfolded it, reading the neat script written there.

_I thought you may want to read up a bit on Ylisse. Please let ~~me~~ any of The Shepherds know if you have questions._

_-Lucina_

Gritting her teeth, Robin stood and snapped the book closed. She wouldn’t let this woman get into her head. She had a job to do, and had already been distracted once. But if Lucina wanted to be helpful, Robin wouldn’t stop her. It would make her mission here easier, after all.

Hardening her resolve, Robin set the book back down on the desk and turned her back on it. Head held high, she walked towards the door, forcing down all the emotions making her weak. One woman wasn’t going to ruin the mission trusted to her, Robin wouldn’t let her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished writing this chapter and realized it was over 10,000 words. So now y'all are getting a double posting. Enjoy!

If Lucina was surprised at the sudden reappearance of Robin, she did a good job of hiding it. She did give Robin a long look, however, and Robin raised her head high to meet that gaze.

“You mentioned meeting The Shepherds today?” Robin prompted after a moment.

“Right.” A small furrow appeared on the other woman’s brow, but she turned and began walking back the way they had just come. “There are barracks on the castle grounds for the group that I’ll show you. While most of The Shepherds don’t actually live there, it is a kind of ‘home base’ I suppose.”

“So if I was ever looking for someone, I should start there?” Robin asked.

“Exactly.” Lucina glanced over her shoulder and nodded once. “Chances are at least one of us will be there at all times. There’s also an assignment board, so if you were looking for someone specific, you could check that.”

Robin just made a little affirmative hum as they walked, and that seemed to be the end of the conversation. The sudden feeling of being watched overcame Robin, and she glanced back behind her to see Severa tailing them from a respectable distance. She remembered Inigo mentioning that the prickly woman was Lucina’s personal guard, and Robin idly wondered how long she had been shadowing them without her noticing. That would be something she would need to be aware of in the future.

Lucina didn’t acknowledge her guard, and just kept leading them through the hallways. Robin noticed that the queen and Exalt were still in the sitting room, Sully now standing in the hall. The guard gave Lucina a little nod as they walked past, Lucina returning it with one of her own.

“Lucina.” Robin spoke suddenly, something occurring to her. “May I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“Does your father not have a personal guard?” Robin didn’t recall any guards standing with the royals at the party, and hadn’t seen the Exalt alone yet to confirm if he had a shadow like the queen.

“He does. Traditionally, the captain of the Pegasus Knights is the Exalt’s personal guard.” Lucina explained. “Cordelia was with us during training, but she doesn’t usually follow him around unless he’s leaving the castle.”

“I hope you do not take any offence, but are you saying the Exalt isn’t guarded in the castle?” Robin was proud of how shocked and concerned she sounded. “Isn’t that dangerous?”

Lucina stopped turned to study at Robin, eyes suddenly sharp. “Make no mistake, the Exalt is plenty protected, even without a personal guard following his every step.”

Robin chastised herself, realizing she dug for too much information too fast. Of course that line of questioning looked suspicious.

“I apologize, I didn’t mean to imply he wasn’t.” Robin felt her shoulders fall, curling in on herself in surrender. “I just found it surprising.”

“No, it’s…” Lucina sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I should apologize. We’ve all had this discussion with him, and he refuses to keep at least one guard with him at all times. I know that there are countless guards patrolling the castle, but we’d all feel better if he had one dedicated to him like the rest of us do.”

“Fathers do like to believe they know best.” Robin shrugged, trying to placate her.

“I suppose so.” Lucina smiled a bit before shaking herself. “But again, I apologize. I should have not taken my frustrations out on you.”

“I… It’s okay.” Robin brushed off, not liking the tightening of her gut. She was a bit too used to being a punching bag, so she hadn’t even seen anything wrong with Lucina’s actions.

Lucina’s mouth opened and closed a few times before she shook her head slightly. “Is there anything else you’d like to know?” She finally asked as she started walking again.

“If it’s alright with you, I would like to do some research before asking anything else.” Robin requested, not wanting to push her luck again.

“I understand.” Lucina agreed, and Robin felt a wave of relief wash over her. “After you have some time to yourself, I can answer any other questions you have.”

“Thank you.”

The three continued on, leaving the castle and headed towards the wall that surrounded it. Robin eventually saw a sizable wooden building surrounded by several different types of training grounds, a few people spread across the area.

As they approached the building, a blur of motion passed the group, nearly knocking Lucina off her feet. Robin tensed, trying to figure out what she just saw race past. Of course, when a second shape came barreling towards them, Robin got her answer.

Even being able to clearly see what was in front of her, Robin was at a loss for what she was looking at. It almost looked like a rabbit, if not for the fact it was taller than her standing down on all fours. Red eyes suddenly locked in on Robin’s wide gaze, and she suddenly wished she had brought _any_ tome with her.

“Panne.” Lucina spoke up suddenly, and Robin spared her a quick glance before watching the beast once again. “Doing some speed training with Yarne?”

“Yes.” To Robin’s surprise, a gruff female voice seemed to emanate from the creature. “Is this the Plegian?”

“This is Princess Robin, yes.” Lucina looked back to see Robin still frozen as she looked at Panne. “Robin, this is Panne.”

“Umm, hello.” Robin raised a shaky hand, the red eyes narrowed at her keeping her body from doing much else.

“She’s rather quick to fear.” Panne tilted her head as she gazed down at Robin. “Do you think I would harm such an esteemed guest?”

“Panne.” Lucina’s voice took on a sharp edge.

“I apologize, your highness.” Panne finally looked away from Robin and back to Lucina. “It was merely an observation.”

“In her defense, I’m sure she’s never met a taguel before.” Lucina crossed her arms and looked up to meet Panne’s gaze.

“True enough.”

Robin found herself staring in amazement as the giant beast seemed to shrink in on itself, and a woman was left standing in its place. She almost looked human, if not for the rabbit ears braided into her hair and the patches of fur on her body.

“Better, human?” Panne looked to Robin again, her eyes no kinder than they were before.

“I apologize for staring.” Robin finally shook herself out of the shock of meeting an entirely new race. “Lucina is correct, I’ve never met someone like you before.”

“That is unsurprising considering your kind wiped out nearly all of my people.” While Panne’s voice was steady, Robin could practically feel the animosity coming off of her.

“‘My kind’?” Robin asked, dread creeping in. Was this something done by Plegia? Some dark secret lost to history?

“Man spawn.” Panne elaborated. “While the exact group responsible has been lost to time, from what I’ve heard, Plegia sounds like the kind of nation that would have had no qualms about attacking my people unprompted.”

“Panne!” Lucina seemed to finally have enough of this woman’s behavior.

The taguel looked down to Lucina and seemed to soften slightly. “I apologize, Lucina.”

“It’s not me you should apologize to.” Lucina narrowed her eyes at her companion.

Red eyes darted back to look at Robin, hardening once more. “It was simply an observation. While I understand not all humans are the same, I do not know you well enough to judge your character yet. But Lucina is right, I should not have accused you.”

“I hope you will not let any prejudice cloud your judgement of me in the future.” Robin managed to get out without breaking eye contact. “I look forward to getting to know you better, Panne.”

Panne huffed, but almost seemed to soften a fraction at that. “We’ll see if you keep that outlook.”

With that, the shifter changed back and darted off in the direction of the other taguel in the distance.

“That was a bit harsh.” Severa joined them, and spoke up, looking to the two shifters in the distance. “Even for Panne.”

“It was.” Lucina looked troubled at the whole situation. “I’m so sorry for her behavior. Panne is… protective of her warren. It took her quite a while for her to warm up to The Shepherds from what I’ve heard, but now she thinks of them as her family. And she’d do anything for her family.”

“I expect she won’t be the first to treat me like that.” Robin sighed, rubbing a gloved hand across her face. “But I admit, that level of hostility from one of your Shepherds took me a little off guard. Should I expect the same from her companion?”

“Yarne?” Lucina asked, and Severa let out a snort. “No, he won’t be anything like that. He may avoid you, but please don’t take that personally. As Panne mentioned, there’s not many left of the taguel race, so Yarne is very careful to keep himself out of harm’s way. He avoids new Shepherds for at least a week, normally.”

“Okay.” Robin could deal with avoidance, at least. It was better than outright hostility, in her opinion. “Any other surprises I should look out for?”

“Well, have you heard of manaketes?” Lucina asked, her smile slightly sheepish.

“You’re not serious.” Robin balked.

“Three of them.” Lucina nodded. “They’re all out at the moment, but I can introduce you once they get back.”

“Ylisse is certainly exciting.” Robin huffed out a shaky laugh.

She was already dreading the letter she was going to have to send home. Two shifters that looked big enough to threaten an entire squad and _three_ dragons to deal with. They were going to need one hell of a distraction to be able to raise Grima safely at this rate.

“To be fair, I think the human Shepherds are weirder than our non-human members.” Severa shrugged.

“That’s…” Lucina looked ready to argue before deflating. “That’s not entirely wrong.”

Robin laughed again, less shaky and more genuine this time. She had a feeling she was in for a lot more surprises from this group, but it wasn’t like any of their reactions could be worse than Panne’s.

“Shall we?” Lucina motioned to the building itself, and Robin nodded, following along once again. They entered the building, the first room they entered looking like some sort of meeting room with a few people around doing various tasks.

“Sev!” A girl with bright red hair shouted as they all stepped in, and rushed over, stumbling a bit on the way. That hair color was tugging at a memory, but Robin couldn’t figure out exactly why at the moment. “What brings you and Lucina here?”

“We’re showing Princess Robin around.” Severa rolled her eyes at the excitable girl, motioning to Robin as if it should be obvious. “Aren’t you on patrol today?”

“I’m just waiting for Mom to get back. I’m in the next group.” The girl explained, then turned to Robin, bowing deeply. “It’s very nice to finally meet you, Princess Robin!”

“You would have met her at the party if you weren’t acting like a buffoon, Cyn.” Severa huffed, arms crossed.

“Hey!” Cynthia, if Robin remembered that name correctly, pouted at Severa. “I’ve stood up on my noble steed’s back hundreds of times before. He just got a bit spooked by a hawk…”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Robin cut in before Severa could continue, sensing an argument brewing. “I hope you’re feeling better now.”

“Oh!” Cynthia looked back at Robin with wide eyes. “Y-yeah. A few weeks of rest and some healing magic and I’m back to normal.” She struck a truly ridiculous pose, and Robin had to fight the urge to laugh.

“Robin, this is Cynthia.” Lucina officially introduced after a moment, and Cynthia straightened out of the pose. “She’s a member of the Pegasus Knights, but she also helps out with Shepherd work when she can. And she’s Severa’s sister.”

“If you need anything, just ask!” Cynthia beamed at Robin, her sunny disposition a welcome change. “If it’s in my power, I’ll be happy to help.”

“That’s very kind of you, thank you.” Robin gave her own reserved smile back.

The beating of wings could suddenly be heard from outside, and Cynthia startled slightly. “I think that’s my cue! It was very nice to meet you, Princess Robin!”

With that, the girl dashed out of the room, nearly tripping over the doorframe before catching herself and continuing on.

“She’s certainly enthusiastic.” Robin commented as soon as she left.

“That’s one word for it.” Severa muttered.

“Cynthia means well, really.” Lucina assured Robin. “She’s determined to be a ‘hero’, and that can lead to her being a bit showy, but she’s one of the most loyal friends you could ask for.”

“I look forward to getting to know her better, then.” Robin figured an overly helpful member of not only The Shepherds, but also the Pegasus Knights could only be a good thing for her mission.

“As for the rest of the members.” Lucina glanced around the room, taking note of who all was present. “Inigo is over there talking with Owain, my cousin. He also tends to be… dramatic, but is a very skilled swordsman. The mage in the corner is Laurent.” She motioned to a man wearing another one of those ridiculous pointy hats. “He’s brilliant, but sometimes gets very focused on his research and is hard to break out of that concentration.

“Brady is probably working in the medical wing, he’s brilliant with healing magic, but comes off a little surly at times. You saw Yarne outside, and you’ll be able to tell who he is in his human form pretty easily.

“Kjelle is training with her father at the practice range, and I’d hate to interrupt her regimen, so I’ll introduce you when she’s not training. Though, most of her time is spent training or running missions. Gerome is probably on sky patrol at the moment. He can be a bit aloof, but if you talk with him about wyverns, he’s likely go on for quite some time.

“You’ve met Noire already. As you saw, she’s shy around people she doesn’t know, so please don’t take that personally. She’s actually quite an amazing shot with a bow, and has a keen eye for the best place to set up on the battlefield to provide support while keeping herself safe. 

“And I believe that just leaves Nah, who’s on a trip with her mother at the moment. She’s one of our manaketes, and tends to be one of our more pragmatic members. She’s an exceptionally hard worker, and will go out of her way to be helpful to the group.”

Lucina seemed to be running down a list as she described all the members, and Robin felt a bit panicked at the sheer amount of information being presented to her.

“Uh, Luce, that was kind of a lot.” Severa grimaced, glancing to Robin.

“Hmm?” Lucina looked back to Robin, then realized how many names she had just listed off to Robin. “Oh, I apologize. I would never expect you to remember all of them right away. And I will try to be present for all of the initial introductions to help you to remember them. After all, that is _all_ of the children of the original group.”

“So that’s… 12 of you in total?” Robin did a quick count in her head. “Along with all of your parents?”

“Not all our parents go on missions anymore.” Severa corrected. “Ma doesn’t, being the head of the Pegasus Knights and all. She doesn’t have the time to run with us.”

“And my parents can’t go out on missions, for obvious reasons.” Lucina added. “I think it’s mostly just Sumia, Panne, Ricken, Donnel, Vaike, Lon’qu, Tharja, and Nowi. And I’ve gone and given you a long list of names again, haven’t I?”

“At least I have an idea of how many people I’m going to be meeting.” Robin tried to offer a silver lining. “But yes, it’s kind of a lot for right now.”

“I’m sorry.” Lucina gave her a sheepish smile. “Most of us grew up together, so we’re practically family.”

“That’s alright, Lucina.” Robin assured her. Figuring she needed to be honest to keep her composure, she continued. “But I will say, meeting that many people all at once may be a bit much for me at the moment.”

“Of course.” Lucina’s eyes softened as she looked at Robin. “I wouldn’t make you meet all of them at once, anyway. Would meeting the other two here be okay?”

“That should be fine.” Robin nodded, figuring two more couldn’t hurt.

**XXXXX**

Two more was a terrible idea. 

Laurent was fine, if not a bit distracted. He was apparently in the middle of an experiment involving the effect of different chemicals and different metals. The details were hard to grasp for even Robin, but he did agree to share a few scientific tomes with Robin at his earliest convenience, so that was something.

No, it was Owain that ended up being a bit too much for Robin to handle. The way he spoke hurt her head, and when Lucina introduced her as the Plegian heir he went off on some sort of tangent about overcoming dark impulses in the blood, and how he understood too well. Lucina excused them after several minutes of the speech, murmuring several apologies on the way out.

They passed the stables on the way back to the castle, and that was far more Robin’s speed. Horses, pegasi, and wyverns all had their own separate buildings, all grouped together just a bit from The Shepherd’s barracks. Two women were currently leaving the area, offering their group waves as they passed.

“That’s Cherche and Sumia.” Lucina commented as they continued on. “The brunette is Sumia, Severa and Cynthia’s mom. Like her daughter, she’s a Pegasus Knight that helps out with Shepherd work when she can. The woman with pink hair is Cherche. She’s my mother’s other personal guard, focused more on aerial escorting and protection, while Sully is firmly on the ground. She’s a wyvern rider, and Gerome’s mother.”

They really had a diverse group of units in The Shepherds and the royal guards. Two types of flying mounts, mages, calvary, and specialized infantry units. Planning against all of that would take time, and a lot of strategy. Robin suddenly wondered what would have happened if her father had tried to raise Grima without any of this information. Regardless of how powerful he and his Grimleal were, the Ylisseans projected quite an impressive front so far.

“I think dinner should be in an hour or so.” Lucina commented as they reentered the castle. “Would you like to relax until then?”

“I think I would like that, yes.” Robin was relieved she was going to get some time to herself. This was the most people she had ever had to meet at once, and she was exhausted.

“Alright.” Lucina stopped in the main entrance. “I have a few things I should take care of in the meantime. Are you alright to find your way back to your quarters? If not, Severa can show you.”

“I think I will be fine.” Robin politely declined the escort, curious if she would be allowed to wander alone. “It wasn’t too complicated of a route.”

Lucina just nodded, shifting her weight from foot to foot for a moment. “We will need to start those wedding discussions over dinner, or else my mother will never let me hear the end of it. I figured we could eat in my quarters so that we didn’t have to worry about any distractions.”

“That sounds like a plan.” Robin politely smiled.

“Great. I’ll inform you once food is delivered.” With that, the Ylissean left, her guard following her, leaving Robin alone for the time being.

Not having the energy to do much else, Robin did just head back to her room, but made a mental note that she apparently _didn’t_ need an escort in the castle. That was surprising this early on, but she wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. A victory, no matter how small, was needed after all she was discovering about the forces they would be facing down the line.

Once in her room, she shed her coat and gloves, and grabbed the history book on her desk. She curled up in the armchair, sinking into the plush fabric, and lost herself in the book. 

Robin hadn’t even realized how long she had been reading, lost in the familiar comfort of literature, when the light knocking began on the door that joined her room to Lucina’s.

“Robin?”

“One moment.” Robin called back, marking where she had gotten in the book and placing it on the little table next to her chair. She grabbed her gloves and coat before opening the door to see Lucina standing there.

“Dinner was delivered. Are you ready?” Lucina asked, stepping to the side and motioning Robin to cross over the threshold.

Taking a moment, Robin did realize that she was definitely starving. She had eaten light traveling rations on the way to Ylisstol, but had been so distracted by the tour and her reading that she hadn’t really thought about food until now.

“Yes, thank you.” Robin nodded to her and entered the room, looking around.

The room itself was about the same size as Robin’s, but it was pretty bare overall. A large bed, dresser, and desk were all placed on the far side of the room, but the side she entered was practically empty other than the small table set up holding their dinner.

Lucina must have noticed Robin looking around curiously because she spoke up a moment later. “I’ve moved some things around. I figured I could get used to having my things on one side of the room now, so that it wasn’t an adjustment once we’re- once you’re-”

Robin glanced back at Lucina, noticing how flustered she looked. Apparently the idea of sharing a room was quite troubling to the other princess.

“I understand.” Robin took pity on her, cutting off the stuttering.

“Right.” Lucina grimaced slightly, walking over to the table. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I asked the kitchens to keep it simple. I hope that’s alright.”

Robin joined her at the table, seeing a few types of meat, cheeses, and breads laid out. “This looks great. Just so you know, I’m not usually very picky when it comes to food.”

“Good to know.” Lucina pulled out a chair, looking at Robin expectantly. Robin felt her face flush a bit realizing that Lucina was actually pulling a chair out for her. Who even did that in real life? Robin was pretty sure it was only something that happened in those cheesy romance novels. Which she _definitely_ didn’t read.

“Thank you.” Robin ducked her head and took a seat, Lucina rounding the table and taking her own.

“Of course.” Lucina smiled at her, and Robin turned her focus to the table to not get drawn in by those kind eyes.

“So, where do we start?” Robin asked, grabbing food and piling it on to her plate.

“I think the ceremony itself is a good starting place.” Lucina mused, grabbing her own food.

“Really?” Robin asked, surprised. “I would think that would be the most complicated part.”

“The ceremony can be pretty simple, actually.” Lucina let her know. “There’s a decently large balcony that overlooks a courtyard that we will be using.”

“Oh.” Robin took a bite and considered that. “So it doesn’t have to be some big spectacle?”

“Thankfully, no.”

“How many people are expected to be up there with us?” Robin asked.

“As many or as few as we decide on.” Lucina shrugged. “Again, there’s not really set rules for royal weddings here. Do you have a preference?”

“I…” Robin started but found herself trailing off. She had already told Severa she was basically alone growing up, so why did it feel different now? “I’m not really sure there’s many people I could invite to stand with me.”

“That’s alright.” Lucina assured her. “Forgive me if I’m assuming anything, but I feel like both of us would prefer something smaller. Maybe we could just have our parents join us?”

Blood suddenly going cold, Robin realized she hadn’t even considered her father being part of the ceremony. But Lucina seemed so close with her parents, and Robin couldn’t ask her to not include them. Not when she knew what was going to happen down the line.

“That would be fine.” Robin managed to keep her voice normal.

“Okay.” Lucina tapped a finger against the table. “Are there any Plegian customs that you would like to include?”

“Not really.” Robin shook her head. “And I think the less we include of Plegia, the more your people will accept this whole situation.”

Lucina’s brows furrowed at Robin’s answer. “You are going to be the next queen. We’re not just going to erase your heritage to make a few extremists more comfortable.”

Robin sighed. “I appreciate that sentiment, I really do. But I promise, there aren’t any traditions that I’m overly attached to. “However,” Lucina had opened her mouth, but Robin cut her off before she could argue, “I would like to wear Plegia’s colors if possible.” Robin figured that would be enough for Lucina to stop pushing.

“Of course. Would you like to wear a dress or a suit?” She questioned.

While Robin would have much preferred wearing pants for the ceremony, she knew what her answer needed to be. “A dress.”

Lucina’s eyebrows twitched up slightly, but she didn’t comment, thankfully. “Alright. We can have the tailors get your measurements and color preferences in the next few days to start that.”

“Anything else for the ceremony?” Robin asked, hoping to move on quickly.

“Ylisse has a priest we use for royal events.” Lucina mused. “Would there be a Plegian priest you would like to invite?”

“No.” Robin answered a bit sharply, needing to cut that line of questioning off quickly.

“Robin-”

“All of our priests are Grimleal.” Robin said as if that should explain everything. And based on the widening of Lucina’s eyes, it did.

“Oh.” Lucina murmured, looking down at the table.

An awkward silence descended over the two. Robin felt sick suddenly, knowing how Ylisseans viewed Grima, and all who followed him. She grabbed the glass of water just for something to do with her hands.

“Do you follow the Grimleal’s teachings?” Lucina suddenly asked, and Robin couldn’t make herself look up.

“It’s how I was raised.” She raised one shoulder in a shaky shrug. Why was she being honest about this? Why didn’t she just lie?

“I can’t say I’m thrilled with that.” Lucina sighed, and Robin squeezed her eyes shut. “But it’s not going to change anything.”

Robin’s head shot up. “What?”

“I just said that I wouldn’t allow your heritage to be erased, remember?” Lucina’s smile looked a bit forced, but her words seemed sincere enough. “While I may not understand, it’s a part of you.”

Robin couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Oh.”

“If you wanted a priest at the wedding, I wouldn’t fight that. And the Ylissean people will have to deal with it.”

“It’s-” Robin’s voice came out shaky, and she had to clear her throat before continuing. “It’s really fine. Our religion doesn’t really extend to weddings. As long as there’s a priest, it will be fine. The specific religion doesn’t really make a difference to me.”

“If you’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Lucina nodded, and that seemed to be the end of it. 

However, the tension did seem to linger between the two as they finished eating. Robin was more than happy to retreat to her own room as soon as she could, not wanting anything else to come up on her first day here.

Once the door was firmly closed behind her, she sat down heavily at the desk. The dinner could have definitely gone better. Though, it could have gone _worse_ , Robin supposed. Shaking those thoughts, Robin pulled out some parchment and began to draft a note to her father. It wouldn’t be sent for a week or so, but at least writing about all she had learned today took her mind off of the disappointment she had seen in Lucina’s eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the second part of the massive chapter I ended up with.
> 
> Also, I know ice magic wasn't really a thing in awakening, but I've been playing a bunch of three houses again, so I blame that

The next week was a blur of royal advisors, tailors, handmaids, and guards all wanting to talk to the royal couple about their plans. While the actual ceremony was now all sorted out, there were apparently a million things that needed done for the reception.

Robin had been bombarded with questions near constantly for days now. She didn’t know there were so many details that went into a wedding. Robin had been asked for opinions on flowers, colors, music, and even details down to silverware and _napkins_.

So after a days and days of doing her best to give any opinion she could muster, Robin woke up as early as she could and snuck out to The Shepherds barracks in hopes of working some of the stress out through magic training. She had been slacking since coming to Ylisstol, and her fingers had literally started itching to do _something_ with herself.

Walking up to the training grounds, Robin was surprised to see another person already deep into a training regimen if she had to make a guess. The woman was sweating, even in the chilly morning air, and the training dummy she was striking had shed piles of hay to the ground from the punishment.

Waiting until the woman took a step back from the dummy, Robin cleared her throat to announce her presence. Dark gray eyes flicked over to Robin, a brow raised in question.

“Good morning.” Robin offered a greeting. “I was wondering if there was a specific field I should use for magic training?”

The woman stabbed her lance into the ground and walked up to Robin. She was wearing heavy looking armor, but had shed the shoulder guards Robin knew usually sat on top of the armor. “And you are?”

“Robin.” She stuck her hand out in greeting, and the woman took it with a firm grasp.

“Kjelle.” The woman offered her name back, and Robin recognized it from the list of names Lucina had rattled off a few days ago. “You’re the Plegian, yeah?”

“Yes.” Robin nodded, pulling the cloak she had thrown on a little tighter around herself. It was partly to combat the chill of the morning, and partly in comfort. She suddenly wished it was her normal coat, but she had grabbed a more drab covering in hopes of not being recognized as easily. “And you’re one of The Shepherd’s, right?”

“Yes.” Kjelle nodded, then moved back to her lance. “The field around the side of the barracks is usually used for ranged practice. Try not to hit the building at all. It’s reinforced against magic, but we’ve still had some overeager recruits burn holes in the side of it before.”

“Of course.” Robin smiled, but the woman had already gone back to her training. Lucina hadn’t been lying when she said this woman was dedicated to her regimen. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too.” Kjelle actually responded, to Robin’s surprise. “And it’s good to see you out here. I’m glad you’re not some spoiled royal who lounged around all day. I couldn’t imagine Lucina getting stuck with someone like that.”

“Right…” Robin wasn’t sure what to make of that.

Shaking it off, Robin moved around the side of the building to where Kjelle motioned, wanting to just be alone with her magic for a moment. She knew there would be another barrage of questions and decisions to make today, so she was going to make the most of her time alone.

Around the back of the building Robin saw several targets set up at the far end of a packed dirt field. There were even a few hanging up on some wooden towers to provide targets of various sizes and positions. Smiling, Robin set her bag down and grabbed a lightning tome, starting with the magic she was most familiar with.

After several minutes of firing low level spells at the targets, she switched to wind, then ice. Feeling better with her magic humming in her veins, Robin pulled the last tome out. She started to open it, but furrowed her brow when she realized it was her fire tome. Shooting fire at the wood and straw targets seemed like a really bad plan.

Glancing around, she noticed a few metal shields set up as targets on the stone wall surrounding the castle. Those had to be for fire magic, right? Not wanting to bother Kjelle, or anyone else really, Robin just positioned herself to aim at the shields.

The first few bolts hit their marks easily, and Robin thought of how she could make this any more challenging. The obvious answer was “stronger spells”, but the lingering memory of Aversa face down on the ground stopped that train of thought dead in its tracks.

However, that training session did being another idea to her mind. Aversa had split her last spell in two, and Robin had never actually attempted something like that. She hadn’t even known it was possible, but she was willing to try. And if she failed, she was only throwing basic fire bolts at a stone wall. The worst she could do was add a few scorch marks to the stone.

Focusing on the spell, and what she needed it to do, Robin let the magic build, and released. The fire spread out into a slightly wider bolt, but didn’t split. Taking a deep breath, she focused again, envisioning exactly what she wanted. This time a few sparks came off the tail of the spell, but again it stayed as one bolt. Gritting her teeth, she tried again. And again. And again. But each time she only managed to alter the shape of the main bolt.

Growling a bit to herself, she channeled more magic into her spell, figuring the spell just wasn’t strong enough to produce two full bolts. When that didn’t work, she almost snapped the book shut to just call it a day.

But a sudden pulse of pressure in her temples caused her to clutch at her head with her free hand. It built and built until the pressure was almost too much to handle. It felt like something was struggling to break free of her skull. Gasping in pain, she fell to one knee, choking back a scream. The last thing she needed was someone seeing her like this.

After a moment, whatever was going on seemed to only get worse, and suddenly her lungs felt like they were being lit on fire from the inside. She fought to stop herself from clawing at her chest and squeezed her eyes shut, tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes.

_OUT_

The sudden snarl in her head caused her eyes to shoot open, the hand that was gripping her head shooting forward in surprise. Robin’s eyes went wide as three bolts of fire shot out of her outstretched hand, flying forward. Two hit the shields, but one slammed into some brush growing up the wall.

She didn’t even have time to be relieved that the pressure was gone as suddenly as it came, watching as the fire licked up the wall. Throwing her fire tome to the side, she grabbed her ice tome and threw a spell at the blaze, praying she could get it out before anyone noticed the smoke and came to investigate.

The ice melted as soon as it came in contact with the fire, and the resulting water doused the flames before they could spread. Sighing in relief, Robin walked forward to check to see the extent of the damage.

Pushing some burnt vines to the side, Robin’s eyes widened as she was briefly scared she had blasted a hole in the wall. But upon closer inspection, her fire had definitely not done this. The damage was old if the plant growth was anything to go by. All Robin had done was uncover it slightly.

Robin peaked her head through the brush, noticing that the hole extended all the way through the castle wall. Her eyes widened as she realized she could see the surrounding town from where she was.

And now she was overcome with a dilemma. All Robin had wanted this morning was some peace. But the second she left the training grounds Robin knew she’d be grabbed by the nearest worker to answer more questions she couldn’t care less about. She could only hide out here for so long before someone found her.

But now there was another option being presented to her. A few steps forward and Robin could wander around the town for a little while. Lucina was busy with some royal duties this morning, so she wouldn’t come to find Robin until lunchtime. Not to mention, most of the handmaids were still terrified of the Plegian, so they wouldn’t even enter her room unless Lucina was there. So Robin could, in theory, disappear for a few hours and no one would even notice.

Gnawing at her lower lip, Robin tried to think about this logically, but found her body moving without much thought. She gathered her satchel, tucked her lightning tome into her cloak for protection, and crept through the hole.

Once she had fought through more foliage, she emerged on the other side of the wall, and she took a brief look around to make sure no one had seen her. She was reasonably certain she made it without being spotted, so she threw up the hood of her cloak and walked towards the town that was slowly waking up.

Robin was suddenly glad that she had worn the tan cloak she had found in her wardrobe. It blended in nicely with the other townsfolk, and the hood hid her bright white hair. As far as anyone else knew, she was just another Ylissean citizen going out for a morning stroll. She had even found a few coins in her satchel, courtesy of Lucina, and bought herself a pastry from a stall in the center of town.

Sitting on a bench by a large fountain, Robin just let herself relax and enjoy the life around her. For the first time in her life she was just some random girl. Not a princess. Not a bargaining chip. And definitely not her father’s puppet.

A few children ran past her, a frazzled looking woman chasing after them. A group of merchants chatted about their travels and exciting wares they had found. Two people strolled, hand in hand, sneaking shy glances at each other frequently.

Robin’s chest began to ache as she realized how much _life_ was around her. She had never been allowed to leave her castle growing up. Had never been allowed to just sit in a town and experience the people around her. 

If she succeeded, if her father raised Grima, what would happen to people like this? Would the chosen be able to build back up on the ashes of towns like this? Would Ylisse be tainted by the thousands of lives lost upon it?

Something smacking into her shin broke her out of her internal rambling, and she looked down to see a ball resting at her feet. Robin looked up to see a child jogging up to her, an apology spilling from her lips.

“It’s alright.” Robin assured her, making sure to keep her expression soft. “Just be careful, okay?”

“Yes ma’am!” The girl nodded, face serious as she assured Robin.

Robin just smiled and grabbed the ball, handing it back to the girl. When the girl didn’t move, Robin tilted her head in question. “Can I help you?”

“You don’t look old, so why is your hair white?”

Robin chuckled at the sudden ridiculous question. “I was just born this way.”

“Wow.” Her eyes went wide before she scampered away, and Robin just smiled at the group of children all looking at her now. So much for peace and quiet. Luckily, the group did all run off together, so at least she wouldn’t be answering another batch of questions from the children.

After a little while longer of just enjoying the scene around her, Robin glanced up and saw that the sun was starting to make its way to the middle of the sky. Sighing, she knew that meant she needed to head back to the castle. The last thing she needed was anyone noticing she was missing.

Standing up, she brushed off her cloak and started walking towards the castle wall. At least she knew where the passage was now. She was sure she could sneak away again at some point.

Robin avoided the busier roads in hopes of not getting caught in the crowds and moving quicker. But after a few minutes of walking, Robin realized that there was someone following her exact path. Maybe the busy roads would have been better after all. Picking up her pace, Robin turned down the alley she had taken into town, but quickly realized in her haste she had taken the wrong turn. This alley was a dead end, and definitely not the way back to the castle.

Turning on her heel, Robin was greeted with the sight of three figures blocking the exit.   
“Excuse me.” She tried to duck her head and move through them, but one grabbed her arm and threw her back into the alley. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Those kids were right, she’s got white hair after all.” The man in the middle sneered at her.

“And there’s only one person we know of with white hair.” The woman on the left spat at Robin’s feet. “The Plegian who thinks she can corrupt our next Exalt.”

Her heart seemed to be beating in her throat at their accusations. These three clearly knew who she was, and they were definitely not fans.

“Good thing we found her.” The man in the middle took a step forward, and Robin took one back. “We can save our country and get rid of a Plegian dog all in one go.”

“’Save your country’?” Robin sputtered. “I’m no threat to you!”

“Like we would ever believe you.” He snarled. “Like we would ever accept you!”

“Please.” Robin tried to subtly reach for her lightning tome, hoping a mild shock would deter them. “We don’t have to do this. I don’t mean your people any harm.”

“Whatever you’re reaching for, stop.” The woman snapped, drawing a dagger.

Robin’s hands shot up, knowing she couldn’t get to her tome before that dagger made purchase.

“Don’t worry.” The man kept walking forward, and Robin kept backing up until her back hit the wall. “We’ll make it quick. Unlike you, we’re not monsters.”

Even if it meant risking getting hurt, Robin wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Her hand touched her tome just as the man reached for her throat. A wave of lightning shot out, knocking them both down, but apparently the woman had thrown the dagger once Robin began to cast.

The blade went wide, Robin heard it clatter into the wall, and she took that opportunity to bolt. But she had forgotten about the last man, and he grabbed her, throwing her into the wall. Her forehead smacked into the stone, and the world got fuzzy. Knowing she didn’t have time to recover, she threw out another spell blindly, knocking the man away from her.

Unfortunately, the first man had enough time to recover from the initial spell, and he spun Robin around before slamming a fist into her face. Blinking several times in shock, Robin realized that there was something dripping into her left eye. She had to hold it closed, but managed to throw one more spell out, pushing him away.

Now she was backed up against a wall, three angry people closing in on her, with only one working eye. None of her initial spells had been very powerful in hopes of scaring these people off, but that clearly hadn’t worked. And now Robin was panting, fear flooding her system. She probably had time for a single spell before these three beat her to death.

Baring her teeth, Robin prepared to cast something she _knew_ could put these three down. She was not going to die in some dingy alleyway. Not at the hands of three low-lives. A low growling began rumbling through the alley, and the three thugs’ eyes went wide.

Was that… her?

“Back off, _now_.” Another voice suddenly rang out, and the three looked to the opening of the alley.

A girl stood there, wearing a simple traveling dress and a cloak. There was no reason these people should be scared of her, but they shot away from Robin quickly. And a moment later Robin realized the growling was coming from the girl’s small body.

“W-we-”

“Leave, now.” She commanded, and the three scrambled away. “Princess, are you okay?”

“Wha?” Robin was pretty sure she had a head injury. What else could explain three large criminals scared of one small girl? Of course, when Robin noticed the large, pointed ears sticking out of her black hair, she suddenly realized this was _painfully_ real.

“You hit your head a few times, huh?” She looked up at Robin through her bangs.

“Who?”

“Nah.”

“Nah?” Robin repeated confused.

“My name is Nah.” The girl huffed. “Didn’t Lucina tell you all our names?”

“Oh, right.” Robin had a faint memory of that. “In my defense, I was punched in the face.”

“Are you okay?” Nah looked worried.

“I think my eye is bleeding.” Robin muttered, leaning back against the wall.

“It’s your eyebrow, I think.” Nah corrected, and Robin just put her hand up to her face to try to control the flow of blood. “I’m going to take you to the healers, okay?”

“It’s fine. I can take care of this.” Robin shook her head, wanting to avoid this getting to the castle healers.

“I have to insist.” Nah shook her head. “They threw you into that wall pretty hard. You also have a cut on your arm.”

“What?” Robin whipped her head to the side and almost lost the contents of her stomach in the process. After a moment she looked down to see blood seeping into the fabric of her cloak from a gash on her upper arm. Apparently that knife didn’t go wide.

“Can you walk?”

“I think so.” Robin answered, taking a few shaky steps.

“Where’s your guard?” Nah asked, leading her through the streets.

“My… guard?”

“The one that brought you into town?” Nah explained, looking concerned. “The castle wouldn’t have let you leave without one.”

“Right…” Robin grimaced. “I may have snuck out.”

“Are you serious?” Nah grumbled.

“I just wanted to see the town.” Robin murmured. “I didn’t think they would let me out here.”

“Of course they would.” Nah shook her head. “You’re not a prisoner or anything. But you shouldn’t be going places without someone to watch out for you.”

“Did the royal family send you after me?” Robin questioned.

“No. I was flying back to the castle and noticed something going on.” Nah told her.

“I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to cause any trouble.” Robin felt her body curling in on itself. She had really messed up.

“You didn’t cause any trouble.” Nah shook her head. “Those three thugs did. I’m just glad I noticed something weird going on.”

“You and me both.” Robin muttered.

The two were pretty silent for the rest of the walk. Robin pulled her cloak up over her face as they reentered the castle, and no one questioned Nah about her companion. Nah led her into a wing of the castle Robin hadn’t seen before, ushering her into a room lined with cots.

“Brady?” Nah called out, guiding Robin to a cot.

“What do ya want?” A gravely voiced called out, and a rough looking man stepped out from behind a curtain.

“Someone needs some healing.” Nah answered, and he made his way to the two women.

“What happened to this one?” Brady asked, motioning for her to lower her cloak. “Shit, isn’t this Princess Robin?”

“Just Robin is fine.” Robin told him with a grimace. Her brow was starting to thump in pain in time with her pulse. “And I was attacked by some thugs.”

“She knocked her head into a wall, got punched in the face, and was stabbed in the arm.” Nah listed off, clutching the strap of her satchel and shifting from foot to foot. “Can you fix it?”

“Of course I can.” He grumbled, looking over her face. “Do you mind if I move your head a bit?”

“Oh,” Robin was surprised at his request, used to healers just grabbing her to move her as they needed, “sure. Yes.”

“Okay.” He had a surprisingly gentle touch as he moved her head slightly to get a better look at her wound. “It doesn’t look that deep. Head wounds just bleed a lot.”

Brady went and grabbed a staff, letting the magical healing do its work. Robin grit her teeth as she felt the cuts close themselves up. It was never a particularly pleasant experience.

“These are probably still going to scar.” Brady told her before grabbing a wet cloth. “Magic just speeds up the healing process, it can’t just erase the wounds entirely.”

“I know.” Robin nodded, but her head got all fuzzy again as she moved quickly.

“I’m going to clean up your face now, okay?” Brady waited for Robin to acknowledge before gently wiping up the blood that painted half of her face. “Nah, could you grab me a bowl of water and another towel? I need to clean up her shoulder, too.”

“Of course.” Nah ran off to grab the requested material.

“I’m sorry.” Robin apologized, causing Brady to stop and look at her with a brow raised. “I didn’t mean to cause a fuss.”

“Not like you asked to be attacked.” Brady shrugged and continued, getting her face cleaned up. He was inspecting her face as Nah reappeared, and he motioned for her to put the bowl down next to the bed. “You’re going to have a scar through your eyebrow, just so you know.”

“Great…” Robin frowned, knowing she couldn’t hide something like that.

“Can you take your cloak off?” Brady threw the dirty towel on to the table and went to grab the new one. “I want to look at your arm.”

“Sure.” Robin shrugged out of the cloak, leaving her in a short-sleeved shirt. She glanced down to see blood staining her shirt and arm. It was probably good she wasn’t squeamish.

“There’s blood all over your gloves, too.” Nah spoke up, and Robin looked down to see both gloves had been stained red. Feeling a bit numb at this point, Robin just tugged off the material, grimacing as the half-dried blood pulled at her skin.

“I’ll get some soap.” Nah muttered to herself before leaving again.

Brady settled down to clean up her arm, being careful around the freshly healed cut. After a few moments he was finished cleaning it, and wrapped a light bandage around the closed cut to help keep it clean. Nah reappeared with soap a moment later for Robin to wash off her hands.

“I want to check up on you in the next few days.” Brady told her. “I want to make sure the healing magic took. And you probably have a concussion.”

“Alright.” Robin didn’t have the energy to fight at the moment.

“I have some spare shirts if you wanted to change out of that one.” Brady offered, gathering the bloodied clothing, towels, and water.

“That’s fine.” Robin shook her head, not wanting to change in front of him. “It’s just a bit of blood. I can change back in my room.”

“Fine by me. Just figured I’d offer.” He shrugged, not seeming to be bothered at all, and walked off.

“I can take you back to your room.” Nah told her, and Robin just hung her head and followed.

“Are you going to tell the royal family what happened?” Robin asked meekly.

“I figured you would if you wanted to.” Nah shrugged. “It’s your business, not mine.”

“Oh.”

“But if you make it a habit of sneaking out, I will absolutely tell them.” Nah glanced over her shoulder at Robin, eyebrow raised in challenge.

“I won’t.” Robin assured her. “Clearly it was a terrible idea. All I did was cause trouble.”

Nah gave her an odd look, but turned back around to keep leading Robin through the castle. Soon enough Robin was alone in her room, cursing herself. What was she thinking? Of course the Ylisseans would have an issue with her walking around their town. She growled lowly at her foolishness.

She tore her stained shirt off, glaring at the bloodstain on the arm. Her fleeting desire for a moment alone only led to problems for her hosts. Her selfish desire to see the town ended in disaster. How could she be so stupid?

Throwing the shirt to the side, Robin went and grabbed a clean shirt from her wardrobe. Glancing to the mirror set up, she flinched at the sight of herself. She somehow looked paler than usual, and now there was a reddish gash through her left eyebrow. The bandages on her arm could be seen past the cuff of her shirt.

A rapid knocking caused Robin to jump and smack some books off the desk she was standing by. They clattered to the ground, and Robin clutched at her chest as her heart raced. The knocking paused, but picked up again quickly,

“One moment.” Robin shakily called out, picking up the books and putting them back on her desk.

She made her way to the door, cracking it open to see Lucina looking practically panicked on the other side.

“Robin.” Lucina looked relieved to see her, but that fear was still clear in her eyes. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Robin lied, gripping on to the door. She was half-hidden at the moment, and she wanted to be able to stay that way, but she had the feeling she wouldn’t get her wish.

“I ran into Nah. She told me I should come and see you.” Lucina looked confused now. “Is there a reason you’re hiding behind your door?”

So much for “it’s not my business”, Robin grumbled to herself.

“I may have run into some… trouble.” Robin explained.

“Trouble?” Lucina narrowed her gaze. “Robin, can you please open the door?”

Sighing, Robin fully opened the door, and Lucina immediately could see the results of today.

“It’s not as bad as it looks.” Robin tried to assure her.

“Robin…” Lucina’s soft voice caused Robin to look up, and Lucina had a hesitant hand stretched towards her face.

Robin wasn’t sure if it was lingering effects of today, or just a lifetime of being punished for her failures, but she couldn’t help but flinch away from that hand. 

“I’m sorry!” Robin squeezed her eyes shut, steeling herself for the repercussions. In doing so, she missed how Lucina’s eyes went wide, her hand snapping back to her chest as if it had been burned. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble!”

“Robin.” Lucina’s voice was so soft, Robin couldn’t help but crack and eye open to see Lucina looking at her gently. “Whatever happened, I’m sure it wasn’t your fault.”

“But it was.” Robin spat out. “I was the one that snuck into town. I didn’t want anyone following me, and I got myself attacked.”

“That doesn’t sound like it’s your fault.” Lucina countered.

“But it is!” Robin didn’t know what was going on, but she wasn’t falling for it.

“Did you start the fight?” Lucina questioned.

“They attacked me because of who I am.” Robin answered.

“Then that’s their fault!” Lucina threw up her hands, and Robin flinched again. Her head was still aching, and the numb feeling from before was fading, replaced with panic.

“If I hadn’t gone into town, none of this would have happened.” Robin shook her head. Whatever punishment was coming, Robin really wished Lucina would just get it over with.

“Robin, please.” Lucina looked so sad all of the sudden. “This wasn’t your fault. No one is angry with you. I _promise_.”

“I- I don’t” Robin stuttered, hugging herself tightly.

“You’re okay. I promise you, you’re okay. No one is mad at you.” Lucina kept speaking lowly, tone comforting.

Robin swallowed down her question of “why?”, confused, but not wanting to push it.

Lucina offered a hand to Robin, and she hesitantly took it, going along with whatever was happening. She was led over to her bed, Lucina sitting down and gently tugging for Robin to join her.

“Did you hurt your hand, too?” Lucina was staring down at the scarred skin of Robin’s right hand.

“No.” Robin’s voice was still shaky, but slightly stronger now. “That happened when I cast my first fire spell.”

Robin didn’t actually have a memory of the injury, it being so long ago now. All she knew was that one day she woke up in the infirmary, burn scars covering her right hand. She had apparently tried to cast something a bit too strong for her small body, and the blowback nearly crippled her. The comfort her father provided after was the last pleasant memory Robin could think of when it came to him.

“How old were you when you started casting?” Lucina asked, her thumb brushing against the uneven skin.

Robin focused on that feeling, letting it distract her from everything else. “Five or six. I had a knack for magic early on.”

“That’s quite impressive.” Lucina murmured.

“It was something I could share with my father.” Robin smiled sadly, remembering running up to him with sparks shooting off her hand the first time. The pride in his eyes was darkened with ambition, but little Robin hadn’t known that at the time. “He made sure I had all the tutors I could ever need.”

“He didn’t train you himself?” Lucina asked.

“He was busy. The war had just ended a few years prior, and there wasn’t the time to train a novice.” Robin shook her head, knowing how inefficient that would have been. She changed the subject, not liking this string of questioning. “How long have you been training as a Shepherd.”

“My parents like to tell me that I was running around with a toy sword since I could walk.” She chuckled with a little bit of a blush. “My father started training me when I was coordinated enough to not topple over after every swing.”

There were a few moments of silence then, Lucina still brushing her thumb against Robin’s hand, but the distracted look on her face made Robin think it was subconscious now.

“I wish you would have told me that you wanted to go into town.” Lucina suddenly uttered quietly. “I could have escorted you.”

Robin just hung her head in shame. Lucina may not be punishing her, but the guilt eating at her guts was doing a fine job by itself.

“It was a snap decision. A really bad one.” Robin sighed. “If I want to go anywhere in the future, you can be certain that I’ll let someone know.”

“Thank you.” Lucina squeezed her hand and drew back. “I can leave you alone now. I’m sure you want some rest.”

Nodding, Robin stood shakily, looking up at Lucina. Her hand stretched out again, and Robin didn’t find herself flinching this time. Gentle fingers brushed against the split in her brow, and Robin felt her eyes fluttering closed unexpectantly.

“I’m really glad you’re okay.” Lucina uttered so quietly, Robin wasn’t sure if she was supposed to hear it.

Robin berated herself internally. If anything had happened to her, Robin wasn’t sure what would have happened to the “union” of the two nations. She hadn’t even considered the bigger picture when it came to her safety.

“Please get some rest. I’ll keep the advisors from bothering you for the rest of the day.” Lucina pulled away, and Robin felt the loss immediately.

Soon, Robin was left alone, standing rather confused in the center of her room. Her heart was skipping oddly, and she wondered if she was having some adverse reaction to the healing magic. She pressed a hand to her chest in confusion, feeling the offending organ thud against the pressure.

Shaking whatever was going on, Robin just crawled into her bed and tried to shut out the world, just wanting this day to be over.


	7. Chapter 7

Robin kept holed up in her room for the rest of the day, along with the entirety of the next. No one came to disturb her, letting her wallow for longer than she probably should have, but she wasn’t going to complain. A small part of her mind whispered that even Lucina was avoiding her now, but Robin stamped that down quickly and harshly, refusing to dwell on that fact.

On her second day of isolation she had found the remaining traveling rations in her bag, and numbly ate the dry, near flavorless food. However, only eating a pastry and a few strips of dried meat over the course of two full days meant that she was starving by the third day. Her protesting stomach outweighed her desire for solitude, so that afternoon she slipped out of her room, searching for a familiar face to help her.

She walked down the halls towards the entrance to the castle, figuring that she could always go to The Shepherd’s barracks if she couldn’t find anyone in the castle itself. As she entered the main hall, Robin saw a familiar flash of blue in the corner of her eye. Turning quickly, she saw Inigo descending a set of stairs and met his eyes.

A wide smile broke out on his face and he jogged down the last few stairs to meet her. “Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

“Good afternoon.” Robin mustered a smile and a little nod. He wasn’t exactly the royal she was looking for, but at least it was a familiar, friendly face. “Are you on your way out?”

“Just going to meet some Shepherds for lunch.” Inigo shrugged. “Why, did you need something?”

“That’s actually what I need help with.” Robin smiled sheepishly. “I don’t actually know how to request food.”

“The kitchens don’t mind you swinging by, normally.” Inigo told her. “But since we seem to have run into each other at the perfect time, how would you like to join me for lunch?”

Robin froze, looking up at him with wide eyes. There wasn’t really a polite way to say “no” that she could think of, but a lunch alone with Inigo sounded like _a lot_.

“That didn’t sound great, huh? There will be a few others there too.” Inigo let out an awkward little chuckle, and Robin saw the traces of a grimace. “Maybe Severa had a point…” He grumbled under his breath. “Let me try that again. Would you like to have lunch with a few of the Shepherds?”

“Oh.”

“You don’t have to.” Inigo assured her, an unexpectedly soft smile on his face. “I’ve just noticed that you haven’t really been around the last few days. And we want to make sure you feel welcome in the castle. I promise to be on my best behavior.” He added that last part with a little cross over his heart, and Robin couldn’t help the little chuckle that escaped her.

She really had been moping for long enough. And this was a chance to get to know these people better, so there was no reason for her _not_ to attend. “Okay.”

“Great!” Inigo perked up and began to walk towards the doors. “We usually just eat at the barracks. It’s going to be Yarne, Nah, Cynthia, and me, so not too many of us.”

“Are the others out?” Robin asked, following behind.

“Yeah, they’ve been working themselves ragged these past few days.”

“Oh? Has something happened?” Robin furrowed her brow. Being locked up in her room for a few days meant that she hadn’t been able to track who was here and who wasn’t.

“You don’t…” Inigo looked back at her with wide eyes. “Oh, um, nothing of importance. Just some training is all.” His lie was made even more obvious by the awkward clearing of his throat. “Lucina is leading a group of Shepherds in a drill, so they’ve been away for a day or so.”

Robin fought the urge to press further. If Inigo wanted to keep whatever this was a secret, then that was his right. And pressing nobles wasn’t exactly a good way to make friends. Too much curiosity could very easily be her downfall here, after all.

“Okay.” Robin conceded, and saw the tension leave her companion’s shoulders. “Do you know when they’ll be back?”

“When my dear sister will be back, you mean.” Inigo threw a smirk over his shoulder, and Robin narrowed her eyes a bit at him. “Sorry, sorry. I’ve never gotten to tease her about a partner before, but I will try to direct my jokes at her in the future.”

“Thank you.”

“But I think she said she’d be back by the end of tomorrow at the latest. Even if the se- erm, drill doesn’t go as planned. She was hesitant to leave at all, considering…” Inigo trailed off, glancing up at Robin’s brow.

“I was resting and healing. She shouldn’t have been worrying about me if there were things she needed to take care of.” Robin murmured, hands clenching.

Inigo actually stopped in front of the barracks to look at Robin. “Of course she was worried about you. We all were.”

Robin didn’t even remotely know how to respond to that. Why would they be worried? She was back in the castle, away from any dangers the surrounding city may contain. The whole ordeal was done with now.

“Inigo!” Cynthia’s chipper shout sounded from inside the door, saving Robin from wherever this conversation was heading. “Come on, the food’s getting cold.”

“Alright, alright.” Inigo laughed, rolling his eyes at her antics. “Ready?” Robin nodded and Inigo opened the door, holding it open for her.

“Princess Robin!” Robin saw Cynthia scramble to stand up to offer a little bow. “I didn’t know you’d be joining us.”

“Honestly, neither did I.” Robin tried to joke, still a bit confused from Inigo’s statement. “And just ‘Robin’ is fine.”

“Glad to see you up.” Nah commented from next to Cynthia, but thankfully was still sitting. “I was afraid one of us was going to have to come get you soon.”

“I- I didn’t know we were going to have a guest.” The last member, Yarne, stuttered from the end of the table closest to the door, eyes darting around the room. Robin could actually see the fur of his ears stand on end, puffing him up slightly.

“Oh, calm down.” Inigo went and clapped him on the shoulder. “You were going to be meeting her eventually.”

“‘Eventually’ and ‘now’ are not the same thing, Inigo.” Yarne hissed.

“Yarne, right?” Robin tried to greet with a gentle smile, remembering Lucina’s comments about his temperament.

“How do you know that?” He finally met her gaze with wide eyes.

“Um, Lucina told me your names when I first got here.”

“Calm down, Yarne.” Nah cut in. “She’s been here for over a week and you’re still in one piece, yeah?”

“Right… right.” Yarne took a deep breath and managed to reduce the amount of fidgeting he was doing.

“Don’t take it personally.” Cynthia piped in as Robin took a seat as far away from Yarne as she could in an attempt to further calm him. “He’s always like this with new people. You should have seen when he met Gerome for the first time.”

“Hey, come on, I was six. Why do you keep bringing this up?”

“Because you kicked him into a bush.” Nah deadpanned. “Then ran up into the nearest tree. I didn’t even know rabbits could climb trees.”

Inigo and Cynthia started to laugh, Yarne sighing and letting out a little chuckle of his own after a moment. “It wasn’t my best move, I’ll admit.”

“When you say, ‘kicked into a bush’…?” Robin asked as she grabbed some food from the platters in the middle of the table.

“Have you ever seen a 5-year-old kid completely disappear into shrubbery?”

“I can honestly say that I haven’t.” Robin raised her brows, trying to imagine it.

“It was quite the sight. We were all just kids at the time, but I can still remember it perfectly.” Inigo said as he passed a jug of water to her.

“Did you all grow up together?” The gentle teasing seemed so normal and natural to this group, Robin had to wonder how close they all were.

“Pretty much.” Inigo nodded. “After the… fighting, most of the original Shepherds had paired off. The dangers of war helping to show them who they couldn’t bear to lose and all that.”

“The Plegian war or the Valmese war?” Robin asked as she filled her cup. After a moment of silence she looked up to see four pairs of wide eyes focused on her. “Yes?”

“You just seemed to be so casual about the war between our countries.” Cynthia sheepishly admitted.

“It’s in the past, right?” Robin suddenly felt cold fear grip at her insides. “And while I acknowledge how horrible it was, we’re all trying to move forward towards peace. That’s why I’m here, right? Plegia is trying to make up for what we did.”

“Right.” Nah nodded at her. “Some people just seem to want to hold onto the past, is all.”

“I’d rather not dwell on the past.” Robin slowly said, trying to choose her words carefully. “The past is there to teach us how to make the future better. All we can do is work towards a long-lasting peace, not wanting to repeat the mistakes of the past.”

“Hear, hear.” Inigo raised a cup towards Robin, and she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “And as for your question, a bit of both. Some of our parents took a little longer to realize things than others. A few of The Shepherds were born before Valm, like Lucina and Laurent, but most of us were born after Valm.”

“Of course, once things calmed down some of our parents went traveling.” Nah added. “My mother, Nowi, took me on several trips out west to see if we could find any others of our kind.”

“Yeah, and me and my mom took trips a lot to just run around in the wilderness. It’s always nice to be away from everything for a bit.” Yarne scratched at his cheek as he smiled wistfully.

“So you take trips, but otherwise you’ve all lived here together?” Robin sat back, trying to imagine a life like that.

“Yeah. It was nice to have a bunch of kids your age to run around with.” Cynthia grinned. “What about you? Were there any fun places you visited in Plegia?”

“No, I couldn’t really travel.” She looked down at the table, trying to hide a grimace.

“Right, oh geez, I’m sorry!” Cynthia scrambled to apologize. “I forgot, and that wasn’t very kind of me to bring that up. Maybe we could all go on a trip after the wedding? Make new memories?”

“I…” Robin glanced up and saw such a genuine look in the other girl’s eyes. She had to clear her throat a bit to get her next words out. “I think I would like that.”

“Then it’s settled!” Inigo declared, his cup held high. “To new memories!”

The others all tapped their cups together, and after a moment Robin couldn’t help but join in. In this moment, surrounded by laughter and camaraderie, she could almost forget what her future held.

**XXXXX**

As the group walked back to the castle, Inigo mentioned that he would be having dinner with his parents later that night if Robin wanted to join. Robin probably should have spent some more time with the king and queen, but she was already pretty tried just from the afternoon, so she chanced a polite decline. Inigo brushed off any apologies she tried to make, assuring her that they could always have dinner tomorrow night once Lucina was back.

Once back in her room, Robin sifted through a few of her new books, having finished the first history book, and trying to figure out which she wanted to start next. As she moved a stack of books, she saw a few rolled-up parchments, reminding her of the half-finished note for her father, and let out a deep sigh. She probably should finish up her first report, knowing that her supply of “tonics” was getting low, and a runner would be here by the end of the week.

Sighing, she went to her footlocker, digging under several cloaks before finding her satchel containing the few notes she had made so far. Grabbing it and bringing that to her desk, she unrolled the scroll fully, seeing her basic notes on the unit types of the Ylissean army. Robin added a few more notes that she had learned about the specialized units of the army, but once that was done she twirled the quill between her fingers, trying to think about what else she could add. It’s not like her father would care about any of the personal details she had learned, unless they were specifically weaknesses.

A sudden thought hit her, she had not included the note that the Exalt didn’t have a personal guard while in the castle. She scrawled that down quickly, not sure if it was helpful, but it was something she could give to her father to placate him. It at least made it look like she was doing her job here.

She added a few notes on the layout of the castle before realizing that visuals were probably better in this case. She started sketching a very rough layout, denoting the few rooms she had visited at this point. After getting that finished, Robin quickly made a note to her father that she was working on a map, and would include it once she had more information regarding the specifics of the castle. Once all that was done, she tucked those back away in the satchel in the footlocker, locking the chest once she was done.

Finished with her work, Robin thought about what else she could do today, determined to not fall back into her isolation. The tailor didn’t need to see her for a few days for the fitting, and she was pretty sure Lucina had finished up any questions the wedding planners had considering none of them came to bother her while she walked with Inigo.

Robin glanced outside, seeing the bright blue sky, only a few wispy clouds visible that were doing nothing to block the bright sunlight streaming down. Making a snap decision, Robin grabbed one of the fiction novels from her desk and made her way out of the castle, trying to find that garden she had visited with Lucina her first time here. Luckily it wasn’t that hard to find, and soon enough she had settled down on the bench to read. It wasn’t until she was more than halfway through the book that someone found her.

“Robin?” Eyes breaking away from the fantasy world she was immersed in, Robin saw Nah standing there with something covered in her hands.

“Oh, Nah, hello.” Robin straightened up, grimacing at the crick in her neck.

“No one answered when I knocked on your door. I was almost worried I was going to have to track you down in the village again.” A little smile accompanied her statement, letting Robin know she wasn’t being too serious.

Robin closed the book on her lap, turning her attention fully to the other girl. “I like to think I’m smart enough to not make that mistake twice. It was just a very nice day out, so I figured I’d take advantage of it.”

“Well, I’m glad to see you out of your room, even if you’re destroying your eyesight reading at twilight.” Nah shook her head a little at Robin.

“Oh, I hadn’t realized how late it was.” Robin glanced around, noticing the fading light. No wonder her neck was so sore, she had been leaning over this book for a few hours. “In my defense, it was definitely daytime when I started.”

“That good of a book?” Nah asked, shifting slightly from foot to foot. Robin had noticed her doing this during the time they spoke in the infirmary, but had just chalked it up to nerves. But now she just wondered if the other girl had a hard time staying still.

“Honestly?” Robin turned the book over, running her fingers along the imprint of the title, laughing a little. “It’s kind of terrible. The plot is all over the place, the grammar needs some work, and I’m decently sure the author has never even seen a wyvern. And yet there’s apparently five of these ‘Wyvern Wars’ books.”

“But you were so engrossed into it that you didn’t notice it was dark?” Nah’s face scrunched up in confusion.

“It’s not like anything in the Plegian library.” Robin shrugged. “And it’s kind of nice to just read something mindless like this. It was nice to just not think for a few hours.”

“I guess I can understand that.”

“But you didn’t come out here to hear about this book.” Robin shook her head slightly, trying to get back on track. “Why were you looking for me?”

“I was bringing you some food.” Nah perked up, raising the covered thing in her hands, and Robin realized it was a dish. “I had a feeling you were one of those types that lost track of time easily.”

“You didn’t have to do this.” Robin looked up at her with wide eyes.

“I didn’t have to.” Nah shrugged. “But I wanted to.”

“I, um, thank you.” Robin stuttered a bit, taking the dish that Nah passed her. Opening it, she saw that it was some sort of hearty-looking stew, and her stomach growled loudly at the wonderful smell, making her blush a bit.

“No problem.” Nah assured her. “And just so you know, at least a few of us eat lunch at the barracks every day, so if you ever wanted to join you can just swing by around midday.”

Having just taken a large bite, Robin just sheepishly nodded, causing Nah to let out a breathy chuckle.

“I’ll leave you to your dinner. Just bring the dishes back to the kitchens once you’re done, and they’ll take care of them. Have a nice night, Robin.” With that, Nah turned and left Robin alone in the gardens once again.

She sat there, eating her meal, trying to make sense of the new feeling she was experiencing. It wasn’t anything she had experienced back home, and she had to run through quite a few thoughts before it hit her: she was content. A day of reading and spending a bit of time with the surprisingly welcoming Shepherds gave her a comfortable feeling she wasn’t used to. And she was starting to fear what that was going to mean in the long run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long pause, motivation just up and left me there for a bit. But I finished a videogame, was real disappointed in the ending, and wanted to write fluff to make up for it. We didn't actually make it to the fluff I wanted yet, but that means I know where I'm going with the next chapter at least!


	8. Chapter 8

The following morning had Robin trekking outside once more, trying to make herself a routine in her new life. She had a satchel with her lightning tome to get some casting practice in the morning, along with a more dense history tome, outlining the creation of the Kingdom of Ylisse. Robin figured she could kill two birds with one stone with this book, learning a bit more about this land, and see what the Ylisseans had written about the first recorded rise of Grima.

After a bit of basic magic training, Robin made her way a little farther into the gardens to some tables set up there, this time needing to spread out some parchments to take notes as she read. She also made sure to take breaks every now and then to stretch out her neck, not wanting to make the tight muscles any worse after yesterday. Her seat had a good view of the front gates, along with a few of the Shepherd’s practice fields in the distance. When she took her breaks she could see the few Shepherds still here going through drills, sparing with dummies or each other. At one point Nah swooped by in her dragon form, and Robin couldn’t look away as Cynthia tried to keep up with her on her pegasus. Robin made a mental note that Nah seemed built for speed and agility in her shifted form, but had no doubts that her hide was just as thick as any other manakete.

As the sun started to reach the middle of the sky, Robin was thinking about taking a break and seeing if the others were getting close to lunch when the sound of several pairs of boots marching sounded from the front gates. She glanced over, and her eyes went wide as she saw the missing Shepherds marching back into the castle, a few bound prisoners being pulled along on chains. Lucina was leading the whole group, head held high, and Robin could see the hardness of her expression even from here.

And then it hit Robin: she recognized these prisoners. The lead man was one of the ones who had cornered her in that alley. The other man and the woman were also in the group, along with a handful that Robin didn’t recognize. By chance, the woman looked over, and her face screwed up in a snarl, stopping completely. Severa came up behind her and gave her a harsh shove between the shoulder blades, and she stumbled before falling back into the group.

Robin watched until they disappeared into the castle, not able to tear her eyes away from the group. Once they were gone, she shoved her notes into the book and made her way to the castle in a frenzy, needing to find anyone who could explain what was going on. By the time she had actually made into the castle, there was no trace of the group, so she was left at a loss. Would they be taken to the throne room for judgement? To the dungeons? Did this castle even _have_ dungeons?

Cursing, Robin just set out to her room, figuring she could catch Lucina once she was finished. She put her book back on the desk, removing the parchments from the pages and cringing when she noticed some were bent in her haste. Not able to do much other than let the book fall open on her desk, she spent some time just pacing back and forth, too full of nervous energy to sit still to wait. Her head was spinning with a million questions, and she needed _something_ to distract her from the memories of helplessness in that alley. 

Thankfully, it wasn’t that much longer until she heard Lucina’s door open. Robin made her way to the joining door, but when her hand raised to knock she found herself hesitating. Was it okay for her to use this door? Would Lucina want some privacy after her time away? Would she even want to see Robin after she caused so much trouble?

A light knocking from the other side ended up solving that problem for her, and Robin opened the door quickly to see Lucina, still in full travel gear, standing there.

“Oh, hello.” Lucina startled a little, and Robin realized that she may have answered the door a little too quickly.

“Sorry.” She took a little step back to put a little more space between them. “I was actually about to knock.”

“Then I take it you saw me return?” Lucina sighed as she asked the question. Robin saw her hand try to rest to the side of her hip, but hit empty air instead. Maybe she had a habit of resting a hand on the pommel of a sword? She patted her cape as if to dust it off, Robin assuming to cover for her mistake.

“I did.” Robin kept her voice neutral.

“And I’m guessing you have questions.”

“Yes.” Robin nodded. “Who were all of those people? I recognized the three that I ran into in the village, but there were more.”

“Yes, that was unfortunate.” Lucina sighed, running a hand through her hair, knocking her headband out of place a bit and grimacing. She ended up just taking it off before stepping to the side and motioning Robin to enter the room.

Robin entered, heading back to the table that was still set up in Lucina’s room. She settled with her back to the windows this time, feeling a bit more comfortable being able to see both the doors. Unfortunately she was still filled with a whirlwind of emotions after being reminded of the village. Lucina joined her after placing the headband down on a vanity on the other side of the room. Without the band to hold her hair, it was far more untamed, and she had to fight to keep it out of her face.

“Where have you been for the past few days?” Robin started, trying to not focus on the thumping of her heart. There was no reason to be afraid in here, so why was her heartbeat being so weird?

“Just outside the village, actually.” Lucina told her, finally getting control of her hair. “After you were hurt, I knew we had to find the people who attacked you. Nah did the right thing making sure you were safe, but that meant they had time to hide before we set out.”

“Wait, you left to find those thugs?” Robin balked. “Why?”

“Because they attacked you?” Lucina furrowed her brow, looking extremely confused. “They assaulted a noble.”

“But I’m not even an Ylissean. It’s not like they attacked you.” Robin pointed out.

“Robin, you may not have been born here, but you live here now.” Lucina now looked concerned. “They attacked someone unprompted, just because you were from Plegia.”

“But if I just avoid going into town alone, it shouldn’t be a problem, right? I’m the one that wandered off without any protection.” Robin argued and shook her head a bit.

“So what, you want to just be locked in this castle for the rest of your life?”

“I mean, that is how I grew up.” Robin shrunk back in her seat a bit, fingers clenching around the sleeves of her coat. “I couldn’t go anywhere.”

Lucina let out a little huff and leaned back, crossing her arms. “Fine, let me put it this way then. You are my guest, and anyone that would attack you is unacceptable.”

Robin hesitantly nodded, finding more logic in that argument at least. “People would think you couldn’t protect what’s yours.” 

“What? No, that’s not what I mean!” Lucina leaned forward, putting her head in her hands for a moment. “Robin, you’re not ‘mine’.”

“Then what do you mean?” Robin was finding herself getting a little frustrated at this conversation. While she’d never push this hard with anyone else, Lucina seemed to be able to pull this side out of her, which she’d have to get under control soon.

Lucina straightened up again, and blue eyes met Robin’s with an intense gaze, rooting Robin to the spot. “I don’t want you to get hurt. If anyone tries to hurt you, then they’ll have to go through me. And if, gods forbid, someone does manage to hurt you again, then I will personally see that they face repercussions for their actions.”

Robin just continued to stare at her companion, unable to break her gaze away. She didn’t deserve this kind of devotion. If Lucina knew the truth she’d throw Robin into whatever cell she was sure those thugs currently occupied. If anyone in Ylisse knew what she was trying to do…

There was so much going through her head. Thoughts, emotions, just too much. Too much for her to process. Her heart started to beat in her ears again, and it was the night of the party all over again.

“Shit.” She heard Lucina hiss the curse under her breath, then the strangely distant sound of a chair scraping across the floor. “Robin, can you hear me.”

Not able to speak around the tightness in her throat, she just nodded.

“Okay, okay. Touch or no?” Lucina continued.

“W-what?” Robin panted, the overwhelming sensations pressing down on her.

“Can I touch you? Would that help?” Lucina spoke slowly and quietly.

“I- I don’t-” Robin choked back a sob. She had never lost all control like this before, even the occurrence at the party not this bad. “What’s happening?”

“I think you’re having a panic attack.” Lucina explained. “My friend had them growing up. She would calm down if she had someone to cling to, it helped her match her breathing to someone else’s.”

Robin just grit her teeth, trying to trap any other noises from escaping her. Panic attacks? She couldn’t have panic attacks. If her father ever found out…

Robin just let out a little sob and fell forward in her chair, folding in on herself. A moment later a gentle pressure was on her back, slowly moving up and down. Robin managed to move her head enough to see Lucina gently rubbing her back, concern clearly in her eyes.

“If you’re not sure, would you like to try that?” Lucina asked after a moment when Robin’s breathing didn’t calm down. Robin hesitated a moment, then just gave in, figuring she didn’t have anything left to lose. “Okay, come here.”

Lucina helped Robin up out of the chair, then led them over to the bed. She settled against the headboard, tugging at Robin to join her. To Robin’s surprise, she positioned them so that Robin was leaning back against the other woman, wrapping gentle arms around her middle. But not having to meet that intense stare meant that Robin could just focus on the rise and fall of Lucina’s chest that she could feel against her back. So Robin did what Lucina suggested, and just focused on getting her breathing to match.

After a while of just focusing on that breathing, Robin felt some semblance of control returning. The darkness stopped seeping into her vision, and the restricting band on her chest seemed to fall away. Once she was sure she had control over herself again, she straightened out of Lucina’s grasp, the other woman letting her arms fall away easily.

“I’m sorry.” Robin apologized without looking back, wrapping arms around herself, and ignoring the thought that she wished they were still Lucina’s.

“It’s okay.” Lucina sat up and put her feet onto the ground. Robin turned so that they were sitting shoulder to shoulder, letting go of herself to grab at the blankets instead. “That’s not something you have control over.”

“I should be able to control myself better than that.” Robin sighed.

“You went through something traumatic, Robin. That’s not something that just goes away overnight.” Lucina assured her, a hand covering hers on the bed.

“I was really just trying to forget.” Robin murmured, keeping her eyes locked on the floor. “But you came back, and all these emotions popped up, and I couldn’t sort through them all quickly enough.”

“That’s understandable.” Lucina assured her. “And I think it’s going to be easier with time. But from what Nah and Brady told me, you never really… reacted?”

“It was better that way. I didn’t want to cause any more of a fuss.” Robin sighed, then finally glanced back up to Lucina, who just looked so sad at that statement.

“You’re allowed to have feelings, Robin.” Lucina insisted. “No one here will ever hold that against you, okay?”

Robin hesitated, seeing such genuine concern in the blue eyes staring at her, and she just nodded.

“Do you want some time alone?” Lucina asked as she studied Robin.

“No.” Robin shook her head, but stood to make her way back to the table. “But I do still need to know what happened.”

“Robin…”

“I’ll tell you if it’s too much.” Robin assured her, electing not to mention that it was Lucina’s conviction that pushed her over the edge. This woman was willing to do so much to protect Robin, and the knowledge of just how Robin was planning on paying her back was probably what had sent her spiraling. “But I need to know what happened with those thugs.”

“…okay.” Lucina relented after a few more moments, joining Robin at the table once more. “I took most of The Shepherds into the village and we tried to ask around based on some descriptions Nah had given us. It took a while, but eventually someone had seen them leave and go into the forest. We searched for a while, and actually uncovered an entire den of thieves. They had apparently been harassing people coming into town for a few weeks, infrequently enough that no one had reported it to us yet.”

“Thieves?”

“Yes. Not exactly upstanding citizens.” The corner of Lucina’s mouth twitched up. “They weren’t too much trouble to subdue. I don’t think they expected anyone to actually find them that quickly. We had to stay another day to try to sort through all the money and goods they had stolen to try to get them back to their proper owners.”

“And why didn’t you just tell me?” Robin asked, needing to understand.

“When I saw you after the attack, you seemed shaken. I didn’t want to make it any worse.” Lucina sighed. “But after today, I think that was the wrong choice. Having them just marched into the castle probably wasn’t the best thing for you to be surprised with.”

“Okay.” Robin nodded, seeing how Lucina had gotten to that conclusion.

“Is there anything else that you would like to know?”

“What’s going to happen to them?” Robin was scared to ask, remembering her last “trial”, but she had to believe it was different here.

“They’ll be judged for their crimes. Most likely locked away for a while. Thievery isn’t grounds for anything too serious, like execution.”

“And the three that attacked me?” Robin pressed.

Lucina looked out towards the window, jaw clenching. “They won’t ever be released from prison, as assaulting a noble isn’t exactly a minor offence. And, if you wanted, they could be tried for treason.”

“Treason?” Robin’s eyes went wide.

“Yes.” Lucina had an unreadable expression as she looked back at Robin. “And then execution would be an option.”

“No!” Robin immediately protested, and watched as Lucina seemed to relax a fraction. “I don’t want anyone killed in my name.”

“Okay.” Lucina nodded, putting hands up in a calming gesture. “I just wanted you to know your rights.”

“Oh.” Robin sagged back into the chair.

“But if there’s nothing else…?” Lucina prompted, and Robin just shook her head. “Then I need to wash up before dinner with my parents.”

“Right, I’ll leave you. I’m sure you’re tired from your journey and want to spend time with your family.” Robin stood, glad that she was steady by now.

“Would you like to join us?” Lucina asked. “I’m sure my parents are also worried about you.”

“If you don’t think I’d be intruding.” Robin said hesitantly. She really needed to start spending time with the entire royal family, and while she was exhausted, she could only put off these dinners for so long. “I know you just got back after being away.”

“It was two nights, nothing too major.” Lucina assured her. “We’ve all been gone much longer than that in the past.”

“If you’re sure.” Robin hesitated at the door to her room. “Then I’d be happy to.”

“Great. I’ll let you know when I’m done, and we can head down.”

**XXXXX**

About an hour later the two were walking down the halls to dinner. Lucina had changed out of her traveling gear, into a simple top and pants, though Robin could still see the dagger hilt at her belt. Robin had opted to not wear her coat, the warmth of the days starting to heat the castle a bit too much for it to be comfortable, so she has found a proper shirt instead of her normal undershirt. Apparently she had moved in during the warmest season in Ylisse, so that was fun for her.

“Did you get a chance to spend time with any of the other Shepherds these past few days?” Lucina asked casually as they traveled.

“I did, actually.” Robin said, taking mental notes of all the rooms she could see into, trying to commit them to memory for the map she was making. Though, that thought now came with a stab of guilt. But her fear of her father’s wrath outweighed that feeling entirely. “I had lunch with your brother, Nah, Yarne, and Cynthia.”

“How was that?” Lucina was trying to act casual, but Robin caught her glancing over towards her every so often. “Did my brother behave himself?”

“He was a gentleman, don’t worry.” Robin assured her. “And it was nice. It’s very clear how much you all care about each other.”

“We’re family.” Lucina said as if that explained everything. Robin thought to her own family, and realized Lucina probably had no idea what it was like to dislike your blood kin. “But I’m glad that you all got to spend some time together. I do have to admit, I’m surprised Yarne stayed.”

“He looked ready to bolt for most of the lunch. But the others made him comfortable enough to stay.”

“That’s good.” Lucina nodded firmly as they reached a door. She opened it and motioned for Robin to enter, and she really needed Lucina to stop with all the chivalry. It was twisting her stomach and making her heart thump a little too loud.

Robin entered the smaller dining room, noticing they were the first to arrive. Lucina made her way towards the end of the table, letting Robin know she could sit anywhere she liked. Robin took a seat near the head of the table on the far side of the room, and Lucina sat next to her a moment later.

Soon enough the door was opening again, and Inigo strolled in, beaming when he saw Robin at the table. “I see Lucina was able to convince you to join us.”

“I’ve been neglecting the rest of the royal family.” Robin smiled sheepishly. “I figured it was time to come out of my room.”

“No shame in needing some time to yourself.” Inigo said as he sat across from her. “It’s a lot of new things to get used to, I'm sure.”

“Yes.” Robin tapped a finger on the table, glad that Inigo wasn’t too concerned about her ignoring her new role. “But being out with all of you is probably going to be the quickest way for me to get used to things.”

“True.” He agreed.

A moment later and the Exalt and queen joined them, and Robin was surprised to not see Sully with them. They both noticed Robin sitting there, Chrom raising his brows and smiling brightly, Olivia tilting her head a bit but still offering a gentle smile.

“This is a welcome surprise.” Chrom said as he took the seat next to Inigo, and not the head of the table like Robin expected.

“It’s good to see you again Ex- Chrom.” Robin caught herself, offering the royal couple a smile of her own. “And you as well, Olivia.”

“I’m glad to see you joining us.” Olivia commented as she settled next to her husband. “How are you doing?”

“Better.” Robin answered honestly. “Thank you for giving me some time.”

“Of course.” Olivia nodded. She had actually managed to hold eye contact for a few seconds, and Robin could see the genuine concern in her eyes.

A few servers came in after that, bringing food and wine for the five of them, not even missing a beat at the extra person they had to account for. It was a welcome change from the servants flinching away from Robin during the party.

“How are you enjoying Ylisstol so far?” Chrom asked after he took a sip of the wine.

“It’s different.” Robin said slowly, still not entirely sure where she stood with the rulers. “But I’ve enjoyed my time here so far. Except for the…”

“Right.” Chrom’s eyes flicked to the scar still present on her face. “I would like to apologize that you were hurt in my kingdom. To think, a group like that was hiding out so close to the capitol…”

“It was not your fault.” Robin was quick to assure him. “I shouldn’t have gone into town alone.” Robin glanced at Lucina out of the corner of her eye and saw her knuckles turn white as she gripped her silverware firmly. “It was fortunate that The Shepherds were able to find and handle the group so quickly. I would hate for any of your other subjects to be harmed by those people.”

“If you need to talk to anyone, a few of our healers do specialize in working through the emotional injuries one can face.” Olivia spoke up, and Robin tilted her head at the statement. What in the world was an “emotional healer”?

“I will keep that in mind, thank you.”

A moment later, Robin felt Lucina pat her hand that was resting on the armrest of her chair like she had done earlier on the bed, but the sudden unexpected gesture caused Robin to jump slightly. The exchange was hidden under the table, so the royal couple just looked a bit confused at her movement, but Inigo had a shit-eating grin on his face for some reason. She furrowed her brow, head tilting in confusion, but he was staring directly at his sister, who was stubbornly refusing to meet his gaze. Robin just sat there, glancing between the two, feeling like she was missing something important.

“So, the wedding.” Lucina suddenly said, glancing up at her mother. “Was there any planning left that we need to handle?”

Olivia was glancing between all of them, but directed her gaze back to her daughter at the question. “I believe the ceremony and reception are all planned. From what I hear, Robin will be having a fitting the day after tomorrow,” she glanced to Robin, and she nodded in agreement, “and you meet with them tomorrow morning.”

“Yes.”

“So the last thing I think we need to work on is your first dance.” Olivia finished.

Robin wanted to grimace at the mention of dancing. She at least had a heads up that a first dance was tradition in most cultures, so it didn’t take her off guard this time, but that didn’t make her any happier about it.

“Right, the dance.” Lucina reached out and grabbed her wineglass, taking a long drink. “Did you find an instructor?”

“I did.” Olivia told her, a small twitch of her mouth barely noticeable to Robin. “Would the two of you be free tomorrow afternoon?”

“I will be. Robin?”

“That is fine.” Robin nodded, praying whoever this instructor was had quite a bit of patience. Dread began to worm its way into her at the thought of having to admit to anyone that she didn’t know the first thing about dancing.

“Lucina, do you mind showing Robin to the ballroom in the east wing tomorrow?” Olivia asked.

“Not at all.”

“Perfect.” Olivia smiled warmly.

For the rest of the dinner Robin just sat back and watched the royals speak with one another. It seemed so relaxed. No ramrod straight backs and carefully chosen words. Just good food, easy conversation, and occasional teasing. It was so different from the rare dinners she shared with her father. And the comfort in which they spoke indicated to Robin that this was normal. They weren’t putting on a show for her, or trying to hide anything. Validar was right, she played the part, and these Ylisseans accepted her into their lives with barely a second thought. Even Olivia seemed to relax slightly around her, though Robin did catch her eyes on her a few times throughout the meal, just studying her.

Eventually the meal did wind down, Chrom and Olivia bidding them goodnight as they left hand-in-hand. Inigo left a few moments later, hiding a yawn behind his hand, before giving the two a little bow, then a weird little eyebrow wiggle directed at Lucina. Robin glanced at her, seeing narrowed eyes and a frown on her face as she grumbled a goodnight to her bother.

Soon enough, Lucina and Robin stood and started to make their way towards their rooms. As they walked, Robin spoke up, trying to get her companions attention as they walked together. “Lucina?”

“Hmm?” Lucina looked down to Robin.

“Am I mistaken, or was your brother being strange during dinner?” Robin couldn’t help but ask about Inigo’s odd behavior.

“Ah, well, yes.” Robin glanced up to see a flush on Lucina’s cheeks. Not the usual light dusting, but a full blush. “I think he’s gotten some… ideas.”

“Ideas?”

“About us.” Lucina tried to sound nonchalant, but Robin could tell that her voice had gotten slightly higher.

“What about us?” Robin wondered, trying to think of anything she could have done during dinner.

“Um, that we were maybe,” Lucina grimaced and seemed to have to force herself to continue, “being very affectionate during dinner.”

“Excuse me?” Robin squeaked.

“I’m guessing it was when I patted your hand and you jumped.” Lucina looked mortified as she continued. “Which I'm sorry about, by the way. I shouldn’t have surprised you like that.”

“I, um, understand what you were trying to do.” Robin coughed a bit, her own face burning hot. “I’m just not used to that sort of thing.”

“Exactly the reason I shouldn’t have done it. And now it’s going to cause an endless amount of teasing from him.” Lucina groaned. “He knows me better than that, though, so I don’t know why he’s being a brat all of the sudden.”

“He mentioned something about not getting to tease you about a partner yet.” Robin remembered, not thinking much of it at the time.

“Great, so I can expect more then.” Lucina shook her head and huffed. “I swear, that boy.”

“Well, as that ‘partner’, I’m sorry.” Robin fidgeted with her hands for a moment, looking down.

“Don’t be, he’s just like this.” Lucina assured her with a smile, holding a hand near Robin’s shoulder until she acknowledged it, then patting her gently. “But I wouldn’t have him any other way.”

“You’re really close with your family, aren’t you?” Robin didn’t know why that observation came spilling out, but it did cause Lucina’s whole expression to soften, so that was nice.

“I’d do anything for my family. And they’d do anything for me.” Lucina said easily, and a stab of pain hit Robin directly in the heart. “My father learned early on to cherish the family he had made, and he taught that to Inigo and me from a young age.”

“It shows.” Was all Robin could get out.

The two walked in relative silence for a bit until their doors came into view.

“I’m glad you decided to join us tonight.” Lucina told Robin as she stood in front of her door.

“I am too.” Robin replied. “It was nice.”

“Good. I’m glad my brother or father weren’t too much. They can be sometimes.” Lucina chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck.

“No, you were all great. Very kind and inviting.” Robin assured her.

“Okay. Goodnight, Robin”

“Goodnight Lucina.”

Robin took that opportunity to slip quickly into her room, leaning heavily back against the closed door. Alone in her room, she felt tears well in her eyes, having seen exactly what her life could have been if she was born anywhere else. When he had sent her on this mission, had her father known exactly what kind of torture it would be? Had he considered her feelings at all? Did he even care?

That question was too easy to answer: No. Rising Grima was far more important than one woman’s feelings. And she needed to remind herself of that fact. She was letting herself get too emotional. Letting herself fall into the easy camaraderie of The Shepherds. But gods, it was so hard to stop now that it had started.

However, if she didn’t get ahold of herself soon, she knew there would be hell to pay.

**XXXXX**

Robin spent the following morning in her room, not knowing exactly when Lucina was going to come to find her for their dancing lesson. She kept working through the history tome, trying to distract herself with learning what she could and taking notes.

As expected, the Ylissean book seemed very black and white regarding the rise of Grima. It really just boiled down to “Grima made a blood pact with a human, tried to destroy the world, and then the First Exalt and Naga sealed him away, saving the world”. Nothing Robin hadn’t heard before, and far more basic than she was expecting from this dense book. If she wanted more information, she was going to have to try to find a library that contained old religious tomes or personal journals, more than likely. She tended to have the most luck with those kinds of books back home, anyway.

Just as she was finishing up the recounting of the death of the First Exalt she heard a series of three sharp knocks at her door. Sighing, Robin stood and made her way to the door, opening it to see Lucina standing there. Glancing at her, Robin noticed that she was wearing a very nice set of boots that seemed especially different from what she normally wore around the castle.

“Good afternoon.” Lucina greeted, pulling Robin’s gaze back up to her face. “Are you about ready?”

“I thought I was.” Robin commented, eying the rest of Lucina’s outfit. Fitted pants, a nice shirt with a dress jacket overtop and her hair pulled back away from her face. “Now I’m not so sure.”

“They suggested I wear something close to what I’ll be wearing for the ceremony.” Lucina frowned and looked down at herself. “And to get used to the shoes now.”

“Oh.” Robin looked down at her own comfortable pants, loose shirt, and worn boots. “I should probably change, then.”

“I’ll be out here once you’re ready.” Lucina went to lean against the opposite wall.

Robin nodded and closed the door, going to her wardrobe to find a dress that would be similar enough to what the tailors had described to her. She eventually found a light purple dress that wasn’t overly fancy, but seemed like a similar cut at the very least. The shoes a servant had delivered were shoved in the back of the wardrobe, so she grabbed those as well.

Luckily the dress wasn’t too complicated that she would need help with it, so she didn’t need to call Lucina in to help her. The shoes were something she wasn’t looking forward to, but she slipped her feet into the heels anyway, knowing the advice was sound. If she didn’t practice in them now, who knows how much a disaster she would be during the actual wedding. And while Validar didn’t exactly hold any parties that Robin had to attend, he did make sure his daughter could walk in heels, so she wasn’t falling over every two steps.

Checking herself over in the mirror quickly, she redid her ponytail, noticing some of the hair had started to slip out of the messy hold she did this morning. Robin decided that was good enough, and went out to join Lucina in the hall. Stepping up to her, Robin noticed that even with the heels she still had to look up at Lucina.

Lucina started leading them down the halls towards the east wing, Robin glancing around at this new area of the castle, but kept finding herself distracted by her guide. “So I take it that you’ll be wearing a suit during the wedding, then?”

“Yes.” Lucina nodded, glancing down at Robin. “Is that alright with you?”

“If that’s what you want, then I don’t have any issues.” Robin shrugged one bare shoulder, suddenly wishing she had grabbed some sort of cloak or jacket. She didn’t usually have this much skin showing, and it was odd. “I just remember you wearing a dress to your brother’s party, so I assumed you preferred dresses.”

“I like to wear both.” Lucina told her, turning a corner. “But wedding dresses seemed especially complicated, so I wanted to avoid that.”

“Fair enough. Based on the sheer number of questions the tailor asked me, I’d say you made the smarter choice.” Robin joked, a small smile directed up at Lucina. She was rewarded with a little breathy laugh for her effort, and her smile grew unconsciously.

“I’d say it’s not to late to change your mind, but I think the tailors would have some choice words for me if I did.”

“It’s fine.” Robin shrugged again. “I think I’ll survive one night in the world’s most complicated garment.”

Lucina just chuckled again, opening the door that was apparently their destination. Robin stepped through as Lucina held it open, seeing a smaller room, bare expect for a few chairs and, oddly enough, the queen.

“Mother?” Lucina spoke up as she joined Robin. “Is there a reason you’re here? Was there a problem with the instructor?”

“No problems.” Olivia smiled as she walked forward. “I’m going to- I’ll be- I mean-” 

Robin watched as the woman started wringing her hands together, looking anywhere but the two of them.

“You’re going to be our dance instructor?” Lucina seemed to be able to decode her mother’s stuttering, a look of disbelief on her face.

“Yes.” Olivia shut her eyes, nodded once firmly, then looked at both of them with a look of determination. “I thought it may be more comfortable for the both of you.”

Lucina looked down to Robin, one eyebrow raised, and Robin just shrugged. She was pretty sure this was going to be terrible regardless of who attempted to teach her to dance. Though, the thought of being incompetent in front of the queen wasn’t exactly pleasant.

“Okay.” Lucina said slowly as she looked back to her mother. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”

“I’ll be f-fine.” Olivia had seemed to mostly get ahold of herself. “I’ll be teaching more than demonstrating, so I should be okay.”

“Do you have a lot of experience with dancing?” Robin asked.

“It was actually my profession before The Shepherds.” Olivia blushed a bit, hands grasped in front of her to stop her fidgeting. “I was a dancer in the West-Khan’s court for a while.”

“‘West-Khan’?” Robin asked as they all gathered in the middle of the room.

“Basillo, in Ferox.” Olivia nodded. “Stand face-to-face, please.”

“You’re Feroxi?” Robin asked as she turned to face Lucina. That would certainly explain some of the tension she sensed from the woman. Ferox had provided the majority of the troops during the Ylisse-Plegia War, after all.

“Yes.” Olivia nodded. “Do you usually prefer to lead or follow, Robin?”

“I actually don’t know.” Robin shrunk a bit at the admission, jaw clenching uncomfortably. “I haven’t ever learned to dance.”

“You’re in luck then.” Lucina tried to soothe her. “Mother was the best dancer in Ferox back in the day.”

“Lucina…” Olivia ducked her head, but not before Robin could see the bright red blush on her face. “You really need to stop listening to your father’s stories.”

“Sorry.” Lucina smiled sheepishly, waiting until Olivia met her gaze again.

“It’s fine, dear.” She laughed and shook her head a bit. “But back to the matter at hand. If you haven’t been taught, it will probably be easier for you to follow for now. If that feels odd once you get the hang of things, we can try to switch your parts.”

“Okay.” Robin nodded, stomach still churning with nerves. At least neither seemed too judgmental of her lack of knowledge. Or at least, not outwardly.

“You’ll put your left hand on Lucina’s shoulder, and she’s going to put her hand on your left hip.” Olivia started at the most basic of the positioning. “Then you’ll join your other hands out at about shoulder height. Your frame should look like this.” Olivia raised herself up into the proper form, standing several inches taller than Robin had ever seen her.

Robin was a little shaky, but she managed to put her hands where Olivia indicated, feeling the soft fabric of Lucina’s jacket. Lucina lifted her right hand slowly, letting Robin watch as it hovered near her hip.

“Is this okay?” Lucina quietly asked, and Robin just nodded. Only then did Lucina let her hand rest against Robin. The pressure was so light Robin could almost ignore it, and she was thankful for that. They joined their other hands, Robin praying hers weren’t too clammy from nerves.

“Good.” Olivia slowly circled them, nudging Lucina’s left elbow up a bit, and asking Robin to raise her right arm a bit. “That’s going to be the basic form for the entire dance, so please try to get used to how it feels.”

They just stood there for a bit, Robin not able to hold Lucina’s eyes for too long, flicking her gaze all over the room. She had to consciously tell herself not to fidget or clench her hands, knowing that Lucina would feel any movement now.

“Now you two do need to stand a little closer.” Olivia told them, motioning to the healthy amount of space they had left between them. “The idea is that as Lucina leads, her motions will push or pull you, Robin, where you need to go.”

“How close?” Lucina asked, glancing down between them.

“You don’t have to be flush or anything, but as you move, your legs will need to touch hers.” Olivia told her, nudging a little at Lucina’s back.

Both girls seemed incredibly uncomfortable, but each took a small step forward, leaving only a small amount of space left between them. Olivia seemed happy with where they ended and took a step back to observe.

“Now Lucina is going to take a step forward, and Robin, you’re going to step back with the leg that she nudges. Then you’ll step back with your other foot in the same way. Try to keep your feet about shoulder-width apart when you come to rest, okay?”

“Are you ready?” Lucina asked, and Robin gulped a little, looking down at her feet in preparation. “I know it sounds counterintuitive, but try not to look at your feet. It really does make it harder.”

Robin looked back up, brows furrowed, not quite believing her partner. But when Olivia nodded in agreement, she just huffed and kept her gaze directed up towards Lucina instead of her feet.

With that, Lucina slowly stepped forward, Robin jerking her leg back a little too quickly and pulling at Lucina, making her stumble a bit. Robin released her hold on Lucina, stepping back in reflex, waiting for the scolding for her mistake.

“It’s okay.” Lucina soothed, holding her hand out to wait for Robin to come back. “This takes some getting used to.”

Robin just continued to watch her for a bit before finally reaching her hand back out slowly. When Lucina took her hand and gave it a little reassuring squeeze, Robin finally relaxed enough to fall back into the proper form. This time, when Lucina took her first step, Robin did her best to match her pace, getting through the first two steps without another mishap.

“Now you’re going to step to your left with your left foot, then your right foot, ending with them shoulder-width apart again. After that, you step forward, then to the right. You make a little box as you move. Does that make sense?”

“I think so?” Robin tilted her head, still fighting to not look down.

“Even when you’re stepping forward, you’ll be following Lucina’s lead. Wait for her to start to move back, and follow. As the lead, she is, well, leading you through the movements.”

They started to move again, Lucina making sure to move slowly while Robin got used to the general movements. Robin was surprised as they made a few little boxes without any major issue, and she had almost relaxed a bit when her foot came down on Lucina’s. As Robin went to jump away again, Lucina tightened her grip on her hand, and wrapped her hand a little firmer around her hip.

“It’s okay. You’re okay.” Lucina spoke quietly. “You didn’t hurt me, and I’m not mad. I promise.”

Robin’s eyes darted around, her instinct telling her that was a lie, but the sincerity in Lucina’s voice was just enough to stop Robin from fighting it. Lucina slowly began to move again, and Robin fell back into the rhythm, not knowing what else to do.

Eventually they picked up the pace a little bit, Robin managing to keep her feet to herself now that she had a general idea of the distances she needed to step each time. It was almost nice, gong through the simple repetitive movements. 

Robin wasn’t sure if Lucina noticed, but she had never quite relaxed her grip from when she stopped her from breaking away, so now Robin seemed almost hyperaware of the firm pressure on her hand and hip. Their legs kept brushing with the forward and backwards steps, and Robin idly wondered why the contact wasn’t troubling her like she expected. But as they moved it was… calming. It gave her something to focus on instead of the movements of her feet, allowing her to be pulled along through the dance.

“I think you two have the basics down.” Olivia’s voice brought Robin back to her senses, and she stopped moving suddenly, getting pulled by Lucina during a backstep.

She ended up falling into Lucina, the other woman’s arms coming up to catch her. Her forehead smacked into Lucina’s shoulder, and she pulled back with a hiss, hand rubbing at the sore spot.

“I’m so sorry!” Olivia was suddenly there, hands held up waving around, as if she didn’t know where to put them. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” Robin looked up to see Olivia’s wide eyes. “While I can walk in heels, I think I’m learning that dancing in them is much harder.”

“It’s usually recommended people learn in flat shoes, or small heels.” Olivia grimaced as she looked down. “I should have mentioned that. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Robin found herself trying to soothe the older woman’s worries. “I’d rather know I can get these steps down in my wedding shoes. Are you okay, Lucina?”

“Me?” Lucina blinked a few times, looking between the two. “I’m fine. I barely felt it.”

“That’s good.” Robin smiled, bringing her hand away from her forehead. While it was a sudden shock of pain, the strike didn’t seem to be causing a headache so it could have been much worse.

“I was just going to suggest that you start to keep time with music, but if you’d rather be done for the day, that’s fine.” Olivia muttered, curling slightly back into herself.

“No, that’s fine.” Robin assured her. “If you think we should move onto that, then we can.”

“Having a beat actually makes it easier to keep pace.” Olivia told her, studying her.

“I wouldn’t mind a quick break for some water.” Lucina spoke up suddenly. “Breaking in these boots has been a little worse than I expected.”

“Oh, of course!” Olivia shook herself, motioning over to the few chairs in the corner. “I had the kitchen bring some fruit as well. We can take a little break, then work on dancing to music.”

“Does that mean there will be others joining us?” Robin tried to sound casual, not enjoying that idea.

“Oh no.” Olivia shook her head. “We won’t need a band for now. Cherche actually gave me an enchanted violin as a wedding gift. It can play music on its own. I, um, usually don’t like to dance in front of people.”

“Really?” Robin asked as she sat down, just now noticing the soreness in her feet. “You seem to know so much. I have to believe you’re quite talented.”

“Oh, knowing and actually doing are two different things.” Olivia gave a little nervous chuckle. “And whether or not I’m good, I still have quite a bit of stage fright. Even after dancing for as long as I have.”

“Well, thank you for offering to teach us, then. You didn’t have to.”

“You’re welcome, dear.” Olivia patted Robin on the hand before grabbing some food off the table. “Anything for family.” Robin felt her face flush, and busied herself with grabbing something to eat so that she didn’t have to meet that gentle look any longer.

After a few more minutes of rest, the three stood and started the lesson back up. Olivia grabbed the violin, tapping the bow to it, and a gentle tune began playing throughout the room. Robin found Olivia was right, having music made it easier to keep pace with Lucina, the sound giving her a more tangible cue to follow.

And as the two fell into their rhythm again, Robin couldn’t help but smile. For just an afternoon, she let herself focus on nothing but the gentle music in the air, and the steady presence of Lucina in front of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a disclaimer: I have 0 idea how to dance
> 
> And now we're getting into Robin's internal conflict of happiness vs. duty. She's having a real rough go of things, and I didn't have to do her like this.


End file.
